HOWE WILL BEE GOING GUNG-HO

NEWCASTLE boss Eddie Howe claims huge question marks still hang over his League Cup-winning squad.

- IAN MURTAGH

And he hopes to find some answers when the Magpies face Brentford at St James' Park tonight.

It will be their first game since the Wembley win over Liverpool and Saturday's victory parade.

The euphoria of those two occasions was in stark contrast to the mood on the team bus home from Brentford four months ago when Newcastle were beaten 4-2.

Howe admits he did some serious soul-searching given how bad his side's defending was that afternoon. Newcastle bounced back from that sobering result with a run of eight successive wins. But they've since been inconsistent, especially on home soil, losing three of their last five games.

And that's why Howe believes that for all the emotions of the past fortnight, Newcastle remain a team of incredible highs but also some worrying lows.