There has been little time to waste following a period of dramatic change at the club.
Former head coach Eddie Howe has moved on and key players Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon have all left in the last year.
Gallows humour gripped some supporters who made the trip after they adapted a chant which once featured the names of Guimaraes and Isak, who are now with Arsenal and Liverpool.
“We’ve got someone in the middle,” they sang. “He knows exactly what we need. [Sven] Botman at the back, someone in attack, Newcastle are going to win the Premier League.”
But it is not hard to imagine those blanks being filled in as a new generation steps up.
The average age of the squad has been dramatically lowered and 28-year-old forward Harvey Barnes was Newcastle‘s oldest starter against Valencia.
It felt like a potential sign of things to come on a night goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek, 24, midfielder Aladji Bamba, 20 and forward Toure, 20, made their debuts and 18-year-old Steur impressed from the bench.
Jaissle has a history of developing young players at RB Salzburg, which was a big draw for Newcastle, and he knows better than most what they need.
“Time is the key,” Jaissle said. “They’re young lads. It’s never going to be easy in football, especially at the highest level, but we’re here to do that.”
Malick Thiaw was among the elder statesmen as he led Newcastle out as captain on his 25th birthday and this side will certainly need youthful vigour to play Jaissle’s intense brand of football.
Jaissle was a vocal presence throughout on Saturday, urging the visitors up the field, and rarely stood within the markings of his technical area.
He was even running down the touchline in tandem with his players as they advanced on goal at times.
