WATCH: Matthias Jaissle's classy moment with North East press pack in SJP unveiling
The new manager had his press unveiling at St James’ Park and was an instant hit with fans and journalists before he’d even spoken a word.
Instead of just taking his seat at the front and hearing questions right away, Matthias Jaissle decided to take a moment to meet everyone. He took the time to go around the full media suite, shaking hands with everyone in the room.
It’s a nice touch for a first press conference, though we don’t think he’ll be doing it every week.
Jaissle greets every reporter
There was no rush to the spotlight. Jaissle worked the room first, going writer to writer, saying hello and putting faces to names.
As he made his way back to his chair, he joked that he wouldn't be able to do that every week, which got a laugh out of the room, before settling in and telling the assembled press it was good to be "home".
Jaissle had been in the city barely 36 hours at the point of that press conference, so it speaks volumes about him as a person. That’s one thing we noticed watching along: he’s a class act, but also clearly very happy to be at the club.
He also won’t repeat himself, often reminding journalists that “As I just said,” and has a firm stance on transfers. Though, he does give better answers than Howe, and he appears to be a manager who will give a little more than we’ve previously had.
It’s the little things
Sure, we’ve played one game, won it, and won a cup. It’s early days, and it’s easy to find new things exciting. I still remember the buzz when the club released a video of Eddie Howe running in a training session. But look where that got us: a cup win, and multiple Champions League runs.
Now, we’re at Newcastle United 2.0. This is the manager picked by the new people in charge, so in theory there is harmony at the club. That can only be a good sign, and if we can actually sign a few more players, then the club should be in a good place.
Jaissle has three more games before we play Liverpool at SJP. There’s a lot of work to do, both with the squad as well as adding to it. We saw a change after just a few days of training; Jaissle will have learnt a lot, so let’s enjoy being the underdogs again, and do what we do best as fans.
