Newcastle held Premier League leaders Liverpool to a thrilling 3-3 draw on Wednesday night. They’ve also drawn with Manchester City this campaign and beaten both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, as well as Chelsea in the Carabao Cup.
Compare that to results against the supposed ‘lesser clubs’, the Magpies have lost to West Ham United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham, and failed to beat the likes of Crystal Palace, Everton and AFC Bournemouth.
“It is a frustration because we know what we are capable of,” said Howe. “The missing ingredient is to deliver that whoever and wherever you’re playing. We had that in our Champions League season and that’s why we were able to achieve what we did that year. Regardless of the opposition, it didn’t really matter, you saw the same Newcastle week in and week out.
“t’s not for the want of trying. I can tell you the players are committed to delivering that. We can’t go back, we can only effect the future and try to make sure that we are finding solutions to problems and trying to make the players aware of what we are trying to do.”
Will Howe be consistent with his team selection and name an unchanged starting XI?
“It is something we’re going to discuss at length today [Friday] and try to find the right balance between change and consistency of selection,” said Howe. “I think there are a few things to know that there were some tired bodies in the team.
“After the game, Sandro was getting cramp with about 10-15 minutes to go, Anthony Gordon was fatigued at the end of his performance which was very good. Naturally when you empty like that and give so much to the game there is going to be a hit.
“Alex worked extremely hard and was tired too so our job is to refuel, regroup and go again ahead of what is another great opportunity for us.”
Newcastle could be without Kieran Trippier, who missed the Liverpool game through illness. “Yea he’s improving,” Howe said on Friday. ”We’ll see today.”
Here’s Newcastle United’s predicted starting XI and subs for the clash against Brentford:
1. GK: Nick Pope
Pope and Newcastle’s defenders have kept just one clean sheet on the road this season, and that was the goalless draw at Everton in October. | Getty Images
2. RB: Tino Livramento
Livramento has established himself as United’s first choice right-back this term with Kieran Trippier restricted to just four starts in all competitions. | AFP via Getty Images
3. CB: Fabian Schar
Schar’s late equaliser against Liverpool in midweek was his third goal of the campaign. Not bad for a centre-back but he is unique in that sense. | AFP via Getty Images
4. CB: Dan Burn
The Blyth-born defender has quietly gone about his business in recent games. Has been really solid at the back. | Getty Images