Matthias Jaissle accused his Newcastle players of failing to follow his plan for the match against Everton – claiming they played long balls against his wishes.

The under-pressure boss, whose side have lost four from five and sit 13th in the Premier League after Monday night’s 1-0 defeat at St James’s Park, saw frontman Will Osula isolated as his team failed to register a shot on target until the 85th minute.

‘There is big frustration and disappointment,’ said the German, who replaced Eddie Howe this summer. 

‘We could not transfer what we saw in the week, training in a high level. Since the start of the game, not much was seen. That is difficult to understand.

‘We were not brave enough to break the line and play on the ground. We saw it in training, but there was almost nothing to see from these aspects in the game. In possession, this was not the level we wanted to see.

‘If you just play long balls, it’s not the style Osula prefers and that was not the plan. 

'We need to analyse this in depth, why we could not start the game how we planned. I’m responsible for that, to make it work.

‘We have a clear identity of how we want to play. To bring the opposition in stressful situations high in the pitch. We spoke about creating one-on-one situations. The plan was not to shoot the long balls.’

Thierno Barry’s second-half goal inflicted Newcastle’s second defeat by Everton in the space of five days, following the 3-1 loss on Merseyside in the Carabao Cup last Thursday.

And Everton boss David Moyes paid tribute to his side. ‘They are so good in what they do as they give everything they’ve got,’ he said.

‘They’re a brilliant group of players and they’ve had it tough as well. They want to keep winning and they’ve found it difficult with the way things have gone, but they’re pulling it out and doing their best to be in all the games.

‘It’s never easy… we beat Newcastle on Thursday night and to beat them again today is not an easy thing to do for any club at this level.

‘To come here and get a good win was a great result for us.’