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Matthias Jaissle has insisted that Newcastle’s new crop of “under pressure” young players command his “full confidence” and hopes that supporters and reporters will start exhibiting similar belief.

Eddie Howe’s successor is preparing for his first Premier League game at St James’ Park on Sunday when Liverpool are the visitors.

While the former Newcastle striker Alexander Isak – who left for £125m last summer – is expected to lead Andoni Iraola’s attacking line, Jaissle could give competitive debuts to up to three of his club’s four summer signings who are aged 20 or under.

“When you have young players it’s good that you don’t put even more pressure from outside on them,” said Jaissle, who now looks heavily dependent on Bazoumana Touré, Aladji Bamba and Sean Steur. “They have already a lot of pressure, stepping up to goals they are maybe not used to at the moment.

“[But] from my side they have full confidence and commitment and trust and respect for the journey ahead of them – and it would nice if the fans and the media could see it in the same way.”

Earlier this week, the former RB Salzburg and Al-Ahli manager said everyone was “against” Newcastle but now the 38-year-old German is pondering how best to use this to his advantage.

“It’s smart from us to avoid the negativity from outside and there is negativity,” said Jaissle. “You read the newspapers, the media, the social media in particular.”

Only a fortnight into the job, at the end of a summer that has seen Newcastle lose Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães to Barcelona, Tottenham and Arsenal respectively, Jaissle acknowledges that a team expected to be strengthened by at least one more signing in the coming days is “not 100% yet”.

Asked what percentage they were currently up to, Jaissle turned a little coy. “I’m not good in mathematics, so I can’t tell you that,” he said. “But, for sure, there’s a gap to reach our full potential. That’s normal when you consider the circumstances around us. We are smart and realistic. But we are also ambitious.”

While Amar Dedic has at least arrived on Tyneside this week and will start at right-back after a £30m move from Benfica, Jaissle offered no hints as to the identity of Isak’s marker on an afternoon when, after both sets of fans pay tribute to the late Kevin Keegan, the Sweden striker will be braced for an extremely hostile reception. “I like Isak a lot,” said Jaissle. “He’s pure quality as a player. I don’t know him as a human being but the important thing is that our lads just focus on themselves.”

Newcastle’s manager was delighted at the club’s long-awaited announcement on Thursday that, subject to planning permission, they will move into a brand new, £190m, training facility at Woolsington Hall, near Newcastle airport, for the start of the 2029-30 season.

More immediately, Jaissle is spending most of his time at the team’s current training base in the city’s Benton suburb. “I consider the training ground at the moment as my home, which is normal and fine at this stage,” he said. “I can only say good things about Newcastle. The new training ground will be a world-class facility and will set the standards for this ambitious club.”

Not that his transition from life in Jeddah has been completely devoid of culture shock. “The biggest challenge is the dialect of some of your [journalist] colleagues and the driving on the left side,” he said. “But these things are easy to handle in the future.”

Right now Jaissle is thinking only of Sunday and a poignant day in Newcastle’s history. “You cannot really describe what Kevin Keegan did for this club,” he said. “He is the reason why it is on this level right now. He is a legend at Liverpool too, so this combination is special. Everyone in the stadium will show him a tribute on Sunday.”