Matthias Jaissle has only had seven league games in charge of Newcastle and will need 'bravery' to get through a sticky patch

Matthias Jaissle is a man under pressure but he's not the only one at Newcastle United. Ross Wilson is coming under scrutiny as the man who transformed the squad in the summer - and who appointed the German to replace Eddie Howe.

The sporting director was the key figure in the summer. It was a busy period, with seismic deals and a change in management to contend with, all of which are coming under increased scrutiny with Newcastle's season looking in danger of imploding after just seven Premier League games.

It's not that they are in any real trouble just yet. The Magpies sit 11th in the table, a place above Aston Villa who pipped them 1-0 on Saturday night at St James' Park. But there are no doubts at all about the sound ringing loudly in the ears of many observers - alarm bells and sirens.

The words 'underlying data' have been used a lot in recent days, and it's clear that Newcastle's aren't good. They may be mid-table but the statistics show it's unsustainable. with the team performing in the bottom three across most key defensive metrics. Whether you believe in XG and the like or if you prefer an old fashioned 'eye test', it's not making for good reading or viewing. Whether it's conceding goals, conceding shots or errors leading to attempts on goal, Newcastle are in the relegation spots.

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Jaissle's ability to fix that - and change the obvious narrative emerging around him, that of a young, naive, inexperienced, stubborn head coach who is floundering in his first job in a big league - will be critical between now and the next international break. What he does already have, however, is the understanding from Wilson that this was always going to a time of transition and difficulty. It wasn't going to be plain sailing as a raw, remodelled squad was embedded in arguably the toughest league in the world.

Wilson has used the word 'identity' a lot; he came out of the transfer window insisting that what Newcastle had delivered fulfilled his vision. That included the players bought and the manager acquired. But he was also at pains to stress that it wasn't 'perfect' and that there was 'still lots of work to be done' to get Newcastle where he wanted it to be.

"I had a clear idea, identity-wise, what I wanted Newcastle United to look like, which we absolutely shared, our ownership share," Wilson said back in September at the close of the trading period.

"And the key for us was getting to the end of the window, not to the start of it or halfway through it, to the end of the window and really feeling the identity, and that doesn't mean it's perfect, it doesn't mean that we are over the moon with it, but we're happy where we've got to, structurally in the squad, identity in the squad, identity in the coach, and we want to move forward bravely.

"Matthias mentioned that word as well, and that doesn't mean we're going to win every game. You can sign as many players as you want, but you've got to go on the pitch and win games.

"We're happy where we're at, but we're not patting ourselves on the back or saying any more than that but we have to move forward bravely and strongly with our new coach, with our new players and with the players that were here before.

"So we're happy where we've got to, but lots of work still to be done to get the whole club to where we want to get it to."

As well as 'identity', Wilson stressed twice about 'moving forward bravely' with Jaissle. That bravery and sentiment will be tested over the next few weeks if results and performances don't show signs of improving; if the identity doesn't become clearer and executed better.

For both men.