Eddie Howe admits Newcastle United 'concern' after 2-0 West Ham defeat & double VAR blow

Tomas Soucek headed The Hammers in front early on before Aaron Wan-Bissaka doubled their advantage early in the second half. It ended a three-match winning streak for Newcastle, who struggled to break their opponents down and missed the opportunity to move up to sixth in the table.

“The first 60 minutes I thought we were okay,” Howe said after the defeat. “We conceded two disappointing goals, the first one, in particular, was disappointing for us because we started well.

“We kick ourselves for that one in particular but we reacted well initially. After they scored their second goal we lost our way.

"For both goals we know we made individual mistakes. It was disappointing from our perspective. Very uncharacteristic from us because we've defended well in recent weeks.

"At the end we had players out of position, so I didn't like the way we looked at the end. But up until that 60 minute mark I thought we were the dominant team.”

It’s now just five goals in six Premier League games at St James’ Park for Newcastle this season. Last season, The Magpies averaged over 2.5 goals a game at home.

“It is a concern,” Howe added about the lack of goals. “I can’t say anything other because it’s the most important aspect of the team. “We need to score to create that belief but we’re still creating [chances], we could have scored. But we’re still not as fluid as we could have been.

“A lot of that is potentially down to individuals, their execution and their confidence in those big moments. We had big moments and opportunities and if you take those, more come off the back of it.”

Newcastle had opportunities to find the net but were denied by referee Craig Pawson and VAR. Alexander Isak had an early goal ruled out for offside while Callum Wilson had a second-half penalty shout turned down despite significant protests from the returning striker.

"For Callum's [non]-penalty I thought it was a tight call and I'd need to see it again,” Howe added. “The offside goal looked tight, I thought it would be a longer review and hopefully drop in our favour.”

The result sees Newcastle drop to 10th in the Premier League after the weekend’s results with a trip to Crystal Palace next up for Howe’s side.