Matthias Jaissle has defended the decision to play Dan Burn as a makeshift striker.

As the clock ticked towards stoppage time, Newcastle United desperately executed a final Hail Mary. Burn - who only returned from injury on Monday - came on up front as the Magpies aimed to punt the ball long.

Jaissle’s final gamble failed to pay off as Aston Villa held on for a 1-0 win. Speaking post-match, the German explained the decision that has caused a stir on social media.

Matthias Jaissle explains Dan Burn decision

“Yeah, that was purely all-in,” Jaissle told NewcastleWorld. “You saw that if the long ball is coming, he is 99 per cent winning it, and the ball drops down in the box. We had that final shot and that final situation, which should have led to an equaliser.

“That was the decision, purely driven by that. We knew that in added time there would be two or three occasions, and there were exactly those two or three occasions to score, but we missed them, unfortunately.”

Matthias Jaissle’s spiky response

When pressed if Burn playing as a centre-forward shows a lack of attacking options, Jaissle fired back: “Well, you are smart enough to know he's the biggest guy on the pitch today.

“So it made total sense in our eyes to bring him there for added time, to go all-in and play the long balls to him. Then again, we got these opportunities, and we would all be really happy if the opportunity we created out of that had been taken today.”