EDDIE Howe senses a "great" opportunity for Newcastle United this season - which is why Monday night's defeat to West Ham was so difficult to stomach.

Ordinarily, four days on from a game, Howe and his Newcastle players would have moved on. And while the focus on Tyneside has shifted to today's trip to Crystal Palace, what was clear when Howe spoke to the media on Friday morning was that Monday night's St James' Park setback was still stinging.

Why?

Well in what is turning out to be a rather unique Premier League season, Howe knows his side can't afford to let too many glorious opportunities - like the one against the Hammers - slip.

With inconsistency plaguing sides throughout the division - other than leaders Liverpool - Manchester City, in second, and Brentford, in 11th, were separated by just six points prior to Brighton's game against Southampton last night.

Had Newcastle beaten West Ham, they'd have climbed to sixth and would have been just one point behind Arsenal and Chelsea and two shy of Pep Guardiola's City.

A recurring theme at Howe press conferences is the need for consistency - indeed, the head coach apologised for the repetition earlier this month - but the way the table is shaping up this season backs up the Newcastle boss's point.

"We know if we can be consistent there's every chance we can have a great season," said Howe ahead of today's trip to face Crystal Palace.

"The frustration for me looking at Monday night is it's an opportunity missed and we can't keep missing those when they arrive because they won't be there forever.

"Yes, the league is tight and it gives everyone an opportunity if you can find that level of consistency we're all after."

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And Howe means consistency in performances. With that, says Howe, results will inevitably come.

"Consistency of results is a very difficult thing to get," he said.

"Consistency of performances is the thing that we're looking for.

"It's been much better since the opening few games. We have performed pretty well, not at our best levels but pretty well for a sustained period of time.

"That's the Premier League this year, I don't know why that is but there's a lot of inconsistent results and that's reflected in the league table being so congested and tight.

"Apart from Liverpool I don't think anybody would say they've been where they want to be. That's the challenge for us."

And today's challenge at Selhurst Park comes against a Palace side languishing in the relegation zone with just one win this season. But Oliver Glasner's side appear to be finding their feet now and have lost just one of their last five in all competitions.

Howe said: "Crystal Palace is always a difficult fixture, they have very good players and an outstanding manager, so this is another test of our mentality.

"They'll always be competitive because that's the club they are. We go there knowing it's a tough game, a tough fixture but we'll back ourselves."