Matthias Jaissle said:

"It was a game where we were dominating. Overall I thought I was seeing a team giving a response.

"It was clear that there will be up and downs, and right now we're down, so we need to overcome that, and the only thing what we can do is to work on the things we can control, and that's hard work and training."

Newcastle may have unveiled a new version of The Blaydon Races before kick-off on Saturday, but there weren't many smiling faces at St.James' Park by the full time whistle as the Magpies were beaten for the second time in six days.

Matthias Jaissle's side lost at home for the first time after a display bordering on the inept and was greeted by a chorus of boos at half and full time. There may only have been one goal in it, but the meeting of two sides requiring substantial close season rebuilds was decisively in favour of Villa.

With a measure of inevitability, the winner came from Johan Manzambi, who rejected a summer move to Tyneside in favour of Villa and was left unattended to nod home after 36 minutes.

United's most dangerous moment came early in the second half from the boot of Sven Botman, but unlike Monday's jet-propelled effort, he failed to find a way past goalkeeper Zion Suzuki with what proved to be the only effort on target throughout the whole game.

The sole change to the side that started at Coventry saw Joelinton return to captain the side from central midfield, as Matias Fernandez-Pardo replaced Jacob Murphy on the right and Yoane Wissa was restored to a centre forward role after his unthreatening deployment at number 10 last time out.

The ineffectiveness of that formation saw replacements warming at half time; Bazoumana Toure and Will Osula both introduced barely ten minutes after the restart as the tempo and frequency of United's attacks increased, but the quality of crossing remained uniformly poor.

Aside from the Botman snap shot, nothing remotely troubled Suzuki as the minutes ticked away and the home side's efforts became desperate, culminating in Dan Burn appearing to leading the attack as he had done at Coventry.

A team lacking poise or coherence failed to trouble a Villa side who needed only to be workmanlike to take all three points and could have won by more: Buendia's 39th minute shot hit a post and bouncing off the unwitting Hornicek and the 'keeper denying substitute Ross Barkley in the 74th minute.

In contrast, Newcastle never looked like scoring seemed set to concede every time Villa attacked. Like the old badge, clean sheets and set piece chances now seem to be part of our history.....

Jaissle may have spoken about his players needing to show a reaction in this game following the Coventry loss, but like his selections and tactics, the gap between aspiration and reality at present is visible. The reaction was insipid, the effort misplaced, the spark missing.

To our eyes there is a credibility issue with this coach and his players; a paying audience largely unconvinced by what they've seen and heard thus far. Jaissle's "vertical football" is in danger of emulating Ruud Gullit's "sexy football." On today's evidence, vertical means downwards.

It's by no means a lost cause, but to see our form deteriorating week by week in what looks like an even more mediocre league than last season is hardly comforting.  

Starting next Sunday, we desperately need to capitalise on the lack of European football this season with some focus and composure on the field, as opposed to this rushed rubbish.

Fresh from a 0-5 drubbing at Brighton, we'll face a Palace side who will have played in Turkey on the Thursday. Screw that one up and questions about leadership and direction deserve to be asked.

Biffa