Incoming Newcastle United manager Matthias Jaissle revealed his preferred style of play and his biggest managerial influences in an exclusive interview with GIVEMESPORT in 2024.

The 38-year-old is expected to be named as the next Newcastle boss after Eddie Howe’s shock exit was confirmed out of nowhere on Thursday morning.

According to GMS sources, Howe made the decision to leave St James’ Park with the parting between the two parties amicable, with the summer player exits one of the factors in his decision.

Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali have already left for Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, while Arsenal are working on a deal to bring captain Bruno Guimaraes to the Emirates.

Howe informed club officials weeks ago that he was keen to leave, but he wanted to ensure that a suitable replacement was found.

His successor looks set to be Al-Ahli coach Jaissle, who is expected to take charge ahead of the squad flying out to Spain for their pre-season training camp.

GMS spoke exclusively to the former Red Bell Salzburg boss in December 2024, where he provided insight into his philosophies.

Matthias Jaissle’s Preferred Playing Style and Formations

via Reuters

When asked about his playing style, Jaissle said he is heavily influenced by his background with the Red Bull model.

He told GMS: “Due to my past at both Salzburg and Leipzig, I have this identity in my blood to put stress on the opponent as high up the pitch as possible. I want my teams to play in a really intense and aggressive way. And I want to score goals from offensive transitions.

“I am always refining my style, but essentially, and I know it’s easy to say, we want dominance in all phases of the game. So firstly, controlling the transition phases is important, but you also need to find good solutions in possession, especially now we are often facing a low block.

“When our opponents ‘park the bus’, it’s about being creative and disciplined and finding a good structure to create as many chances as possible without being wild on the pitch. It’s a never-ending process because you always need to develop your ideas as a coach without abandoning your roots.

“At Salzburg, I played a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. At Al-Ahli, we use a 4-2-3-1 system. You have to adjust to the squad you have as well as the circumstances. For example, the temperature can be a factor. This was a learning process for me, to adapt without losing my principles. I don’t worry too much about the exact formation. It’s fluid.”

READ MORE: You can read an exclusive interview with the new Newcastle boss here.

Jaissle Influenced by Rangnick, Klopp and Tuchel

REUTERS/Paul Childs

Jaissle is early in his managerial career at 38 years of age, but he has confirmed that some of his biggest influences are Germans who have managed in the Premier League, as well as Pep Guardiola and Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi.

He added: “I have always tried to be authentic as a coach and find my own way. Of course, I have influences. Ralf Rangnick played a big part in developing my ideas because I played under him for most of my playing career. And in my youth, I had Thomas Tuchel, so I have followed his principles and career.

“Then there’s Jurgen Klopp – I often looked at the transitions he put in place with Liverpool. In possession, I like how Pep Guardiola finds structure and balance. And there’s a lot to take from Roberto De Zerbi’s build-up as well. It’s a constant learning process. And in the next few years, I’m sure there will be a different coach to draw inspiration from. It’s not about copying other coaches, it’s just about being inspired by them.

WWE has revealed Roman Reigns‘ post-SummerSlam schedule, which has seemingly hinted at the possible outcome of this weekend’s match against Seth Rollins.

Reigns puts his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against his old foe, with the two once again meeting, only this time, with bigger stakes than ever before.

Reigns initially won the title back at WrestleMania, defeating CM Punk, before successfully defending his title against his cousin Jacob Fatu.

With an eagerly anticipated match-up at SummerSlam on the horizon, and Reigns’ schedule after the Premium Live Event revealed, it looks like the ending of this weekend’s clash may have already been spoiled.

Roman Reigns Takes on Seth Rollins at SummerSlam

Once again, the two former Shield members meet in the ring. A historic rivalry, and one which may be settled this weekend, as Rollins looks to take back his title.

The Visionary has been looking to regain gold ever since he was forced to relinquish it due to injury. Since then, Reigns has only kicked on, as he became champion in a legendary clash with CM Punk. It was so good that The Tribal Chief received his first-ever five-star match from Dave Meltzer.

What makes this weekend’s tussle all the more interesting is that the pair haven’t met one-on-one since Royal Rumble 2022. That night, Reigns retained the Universal Title. However, what bodes well for Rollins is, in one-on-one matches, he holds a slight edge, with five wins and four losses in their 10 matches.

Roman Reigns Post SummerSlam Schedule Revealed

Reigns’ next few months of appearances have already been revealed by WWE‘s social media page. He has already been confirmed to be at the Monday Night Raw after SummerSlam, which may be a sign that he will successfully retain his title and defeat Rollins. One quote tweet even said: “He shows up on Raw after SummerSlam lmaooo it’s so over for us.”

Outside the immediate aftermath, he is also set to appear two more times in August, on the 17th and the 28th, the latter being a double taping of Raw and SmackDown in Cleveland, Ohio.

However, the activity soon fades away, as he is only set to feature once in September. That event being in Mexico City on the 14th for Raw. Furthermore, he is only scheduled twice in October, though, one appearance will be at Money in the Bank. In the lead-up to the big event, he will be on Raw that same week, as it takes place in St Louis, Missouri.

With the news, some fans are fairly disappointed as it looks like Reigns is set to once again keep his championship. In addition to this, he also doesn’t seem to be too active after August, which also isn’t ideal.

He appears in the movie Street Fighter, which comes out in October. All the press for the movie may be a factor leading to this inactivity.

Sports medicine doctor Brian Sutterer has given his thoughts on Conor McGregor‘s recovery from an ACL tear suffered at UFC 329 against Max Holloway earlier this month.

The Irishman returned to the Octagon for the first time in five years in Las Vegas, Nevada, though, the long-awaited fight with Holloway couldn’t have ended more abruptly and more disappointingly.

McGregor opened the fight up with a jumping switch kick. It’s fairly normal for him to begin proceedings with a flashy kick, only this time he buckled to the floor, with his knees unable to withstand the pressure.

In the aftermath of the fight, there was plenty of speculation regarding what happened, with Sutterer now posing more questions since seeing what McGregor has been doing following the injury.

Doctor Has Suspicions About Conor McGregor’s Injury

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas via Imagn Images

In the immediate aftermath of the fight at UFC 329, Sutterer gave his thoughts on the possible injury, saying: “So, actually seeing all this, my first thought would be a meniscus tear, specifically that lateral meniscus because of him grabbing on the outside of his knee.”

There was also speculation about whether or not McGregor was injured prior. He seemed fairly cautious at both the ceremonial weigh-ins and on the cage walk. However, the Irishman has since said that he wasn’t hindered in the lead-up.

Reflecting on the situation, Sutterer has now touched on the recovery and McGregor’s possible journey back to the Octagon, and he’s made an eye-opening claim about what the fighter has been doing in the aftermath.

“Starting to wonder what’s going on with Conor McGregor’s ACL tear. He’s posting a lot of pretty intense, knee-loading workout videos and seems to have great range of motion and function. If the plan is a return for IFW 2027, and he truly has a complete ACL tear, he needs to get that surgery done, and I’m surprised he hasn’t had it yet based on what’s been reported.”

Conor McGregor’s Future in UFC

With the anticlimactic ending of UFC 329, there’s no surprise that McGregor is eager to redeem himself. As Sutterer touched on, he’s been active on social media, posting some clips from his recovery.

In one of his posts, he talked about what may have led to the injury, and the intention of being back for next year.

A trilogy fight with Holloway could be on the table. The Hawaiian fighter didn’t shut down the possible contest, saying: “He was talking about this 170 domain, he was talking about this different world. I wanna feel it. I’m down to come back in 2027.”

Both fighters seem to be looking for a return in 2027, so perhaps that could be the way forward.