Matthias Jaissle has come increasingly under fire these last couple of weeks from Newcastle United fans and the media.

Since the international break.

The first seven Newcastle United matches of the season brought four wins, two draws and just the one defeat.

Since the international break it is played two and lost two.

The following questioning asked by many.

Why didn’t Matthias Jaissle sort things out during the international break?

Yes, the new Newcastle United Head Coach was only appointed 18 days before our 2026/27 season kicked off, but Matthias Jaissle had over three weeks in the international break to get things sorted.

I think some of the criticism Matthias Jaissle has been facing is fair. All managers expect this when performances and results aren’t going well.

However, when it comes to the international break stick that the NUFC Head Coach is getting battered with…

I want you to consider these three lists of Newcastle United players:

NUFC players who were missing for the Hull City match due to injury, the game immediately before the international break:

Dan Burn – Ankle/foot
Joelinton – Thigh
Jacob Ramsey – Thigh
William Osula – Ankle
Nico Gonzalez – Concussion
Ewen Jaouen – Ankle
Anthony Elanga -Hamstring
Tino Livramento – Unknwown
Amar Dedic – Hamstring

Newcastle United first team squad players away on international duty:

Aladji Bamba (France U21s)
Bazoumana Toure (Ivory Coast)
Ewen Jaouen (France U21s)
Lewis Hall (England)
Lewis Miley (England U21s)
Lukas Hornicek (Czech Republic)
Malick Thiaw (Germany)
Matias Fernandez-Pardo (Belgium)
Sean Steur (Netherlands U21s)
Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)

Newcastle United players who don’t appear on either of those two lists above:

Nick Pope
Mark Gillespie
Sven Botman
Fabian Schar
Joe Willock
Jacob Murphy
Harvey Barnes

The reality is that in the international break, Matthias Jaissle had the third and fourth choice keepers plus a five-a-side team of outfield players to work with!

The opportunity for Matthias Jaissle to work throughout the international break with a sizeable number of his first team squad was in reality a bit of a mirage.

I think it was only the Friday before the Coventry match when all the players (who weren’t still injured) were able to train together again, so in reality Matthias Jaissle had three days at the most preparation time, less than for most other matches!

For Coventry he only had Nico Gonzalez able to return from the injured list to be considered as a starter, then for Villa we saw only a half-fit Joelinton back in the first eleven after more than five months without competitive football.

The international break was NOT a golden opportunity for Matthias Jaissle to reset his team and squad on the training pitch. Anybody claiming it was is not being honest.