Matthias Jaissle Apologises to Newcastle Fans After Eight Goals Conceded in Two Monday Night Away Games

• Matthias Jaissle apologised to the Newcastle United fans who travelled to Coventry City after a 4-1 defeat that left the club 11th in the Premier League.
• It was Newcastle’s second 4-1 away loss in about a month, and the first time in nearly 14 years, going back to December 2012, that they have conceded four or more goals in back-to-back Premier League away games.
• Jamie Carragher questioned Newcastle’s “lack of physicality” on Monday Night Football and suggested dropping a striker for an extra midfielder.

Jaissle Says the Hunger to Finish Attacks Was Missing at Coventry

Matthias Jaissle did not go looking for excuses after Newcastle United’s night at Coventry City. The head coach told Sky Sports his squad could “only apologise to the fans who came here” and said those supporters “deserve a different result.”

Coventry won 4-1 at the CBS Arena on Monday evening, and it was their first home Premier League win in more than 9,000 days. For Newcastle it was a second 4-1 defeat on the road, after the loss at Leeds on Monday Night Football about a month earlier. Jaissle summed up the pair of results at his post-match press conference: “If you conceded eight goals in two away matches on Monday evenings, then it’s not good enough for the Premier League.”

Jamie Carragher, working on Monday Night Football for Sky Sports, went further. “In their last two away games, they’ve been beaten up twice” is how he put it, and he said “that’s got to stop very quickly.”

The Apology Jaissle Delivered to Sky Sports

The head coach spoke to Sky Sports straight after the final whistle. “We’re frustrated. It’s a feeling you don’t want to have on a Monday evening after a match where you should win,” he said.

He then pointed at his attackers. “The opportunities were there, but the desire and hunger to finish the attacks was missing,” Jaissle said. He closed with a promise that carried no detail: “We need to improve on the things we can control, and that’s a lot right now.”

Those words about desire and hunger sit oddly beside the numbers Sky Sports published from the match itself, which come next.

A Pattern Newcastle Last Saw in 2012

Newcastle started the season unbeaten in five games in all competitions. Two Monday night trips later they have conceded eight goals, they sit 11th, and they share the joint-most league goals conceded this season with Bournemouth and Chelsea.

Sky Sports also pointed to a record of the wrong kind. Newcastle last let in four or more goals in back-to-back Premier League away games in December 2012.

The attacking numbers make the night harder to explain. Newcastle had 19 shots, three big chances and more than double Coventry’s touches in the opposition box. Coventry went into the game with the worst shot conversion in the league, one goal from 51 shots, and still scored three finishes plus an early penalty.

Carragher Questions Newcastle’s Physicality

Carragher’s criticism went past the scoreline. He questioned Newcastle’s “lack of physicality” and suggested the answer might be to drop a striker for an extra midfielder.

The comment lands on a squad that Sky Sports colleagues also picked apart. Keith Downie of Sky Sports News said Newcastle created plenty of chances and that the night offered more evidence that Yoane Wissa is not a No 10, Joe Willock is not a No 6 and Matias Fernandez-Pardo is not a No 9. Ron Walker, in his Sky Sports analysis, wrote that Coventry “taught Newcastle a lesson in finishing” and that Newcastle were “certainly outfought” without being outplayed.

Those verdicts, from three different Sky Sports voices, point at the same two areas Jaissle named himself: the finishing and the appetite.

How the Night Unfolded Around the Row

Coventry went ahead after six minutes. Newcastle goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek brought down Sidiki Cherif in the box, and Jack Rudoni scored the penalty. Cherif added a second after the break, in the 48th minute, and Sven Botman pulled one back for Newcastle with a long-range strike in the 70th minute.

Ellis Simms made it 3-1 in the 81st minute and Stephen Mfuni made it 4-1 in the 86th. Coventry’s second win in a row lifted them out of the relegation zone, and Sky Sports headlined its highlights as a game of spectacular goals. Newcastle left with a defeat that Jaissle said is not good enough for the Premier League.

What Newcastle Face Next

Newcastle face Aston Villa on 17 October, a 12:30 kick-off, which gives Jaissle four days to answer the questions he and Carragher have raised. The head coach has named the problem as desire and hunger in attack. Carragher has named it as physicality and a balance between strikers and midfielders that he would change.

Jaissle’s own words set the standard he now has to meet. Eight goals conceded in two Monday night away games is, in his view, not good enough for the Premier League, and the next result will show whether his squad agrees.