Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle has hit out at his side’s lack of ‘desire and hunger to score’ after they suffered a demoralising 4-1 away defeat at Coventry.
The Magpies slipped to 11th in the Premier League table as they suffered their second defeat of the season, with Frank Lampard‘s side picking up their second win in as many games.
While the away side struggled defensively, they also came up short in attacking areas, with centre back Sven Botman the only away player on target with an impressive long-range effort.
Summer signing Matias Fernandez-Pardo missed a golden opportunity in the first-half at 1-0, and Jaissle has admitted he needs to address his forward players.
‘We’re frustrated definitely,’ he said on Sky Sports after the game. ‘The lads (are) as well in the dressing room, it’s a feeling you don’t want to have when you feel as though you should have won.
‘We can only apologise to the fans that took the journey. We need to analyse it clearly, especially in the box, at both ends. The desire and hunger to score, to finish the attacks, that was missing.
Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle has admitted his team lacked ‘the desire to score’ in their defeat by Coventry
Matias Fernandez-Pardo missed a golden opportunity to level the score when it was 1-0
‘There’s something we need to look at for sure. We need to win these games in the boxes. Defensively we need to improve. On the offensive we need to be more sharp.’
Coventry hadn’t scored in the league until their last match, but managed four on Monday evening.
The deadlock was broken when Jack Rudoni netted from the penalty spot, after goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek had brought down Sidiki Cherif in the box.
Cherif himself then made it 2-0, and Coventry added two more late on.
‘It’s something that can happen in football, especially when you’re managing a young squad, but there can still be a possibility to go on and win that match,’ Jaissle added of the penalty. ‘The second goal there was a foul on Joe Willock but it wasn’t whistled, in my eyes, he was then missing in that spot where the ball dropped after the throw in.
On the timing of Cherif’s goal, he said: ‘It’s never nice to concede a goal but we had the approach after half-time to come out and turn it around.
‘The lads believed so we made the first goal and momentum was on our side. That’s something also we need to learn that in a risk zone you cannot lose the ball. You cannot invite the opposition to score the third one, then it’s going to be difficult.’
