EDDIE Howe says he was encouraged by certain aspects of Newcastle's display at Stamford Bridge but admitted his side were once again made to pay for their shortcomings on the road in the defeat to Chelsea.

Newcastle's defensive vulnerabilities are again under the spotlight, with the Magpies having now conceded three or more goals in five league games since the turn of the year.

Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Mykhailo Mudryk were on target for Chelsea and although Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy scored stunning goals for Newcastle, it wasn't enough and Mauricio Pochettino's side are now just three points behind the Magpies with a game in hand.

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Howe was clinging to the positives after Monday night's defeat but admitted his side can't expect to find the consistency they crave if they continue to defend so poorly.

He said: "I thought we started really well but conceded from their first attack. I don't think it was a game with a lot of chances and yet it was a high scoring game, it was a strange one.

"I thought we were really good in spells but not good enough overall because the goals we conceded were really poor.

"I thought the control was there. I don't think we had an issue with the overall flow of the game, I thought we were competitive and looked creative. The final ball probably wasn't good enough today, we had a lot of opportunities to test their back four.

"It was more the goals we conceded. The first one is out of nothing and from our perspective it's a disappointing one to give away. All three goals are similar in their characteristics. We didn't defend well enough and you're going to lose games if you do that.

"It's a familiar feeling for the last few months for us on the road. It's been a tough period for us. Tonight epitomised that because there was a lot of good but overall you're left feeling deflated and disappointed because you know the quality of our players, we can defend better than that."

Howe is adamant that his side can still get back to top form before the season is out.

He said: "I think tonight we were inconsistent in the game. I don't think it was a bad performance. There were some really good bits, I thought at times in the first half we played really well, but then we conceded the goals we did.

"It's a strange feeling for me tonight. There's promise there. I know we can hit the heights we have done previously but we're not doing it anywhere near often enough at the minute."