Eddie Howe admits Newcastle mentality is 'big frustration' as his side became 'WEAKER' after taking the lead

Eddie Howe admits his Newcastle team became 'weaker' after taking the lead in their 3-1 defeat by Brentford.

The Magpies did the same at West Ham last weekend, going down by the same scoreline. A fifth away match without a win this season leaves them 14th in the Premier League and two points above the bottom three.

Howe said: 'We got in a good position again and weren't able to capitalise on it. You'd expect us to establish ourselves as the stronger team in the game. I don't think we did. 

'We became weaker in the game for the goal, which was the same at West Ham, so that's a big frustration for me. I want my teams to attack and to be continually looking to score. We don't look like that team currently.

'We then switched off and there were a couple of mistakes (for Brentford's first goal) and we paid the price. We needed a big reaction to that goal and didn't get it. There was a lot of technical mistakes, which is really unlike us, especially in the middle of the pitch, where we're usually really fluent. 

'That put us under pressure. We were clearly lacking in confidence today. So, we have issues to fix, there's no doubt about that, and the process for that starts now.'

Howe, though, wanted to protect his players from the criticism he knows will come over the next fortnight before they return at home to Manchester City.

'We knew that potentially the start of the season would be slightly choppy for us, as we entered a transitional period with the team, but there's no excuses for us,' he said.

'We take full accountability for what we're delivering, and only we can change it.

'But I feel it's really important I support the players today. We know we have good players. We need to stay unified and grouped together during this period. We know it's not good enough and I take full responsibility for that.'