Eddie Howe explains Nick Pope substitution after Newcastle crash to Brentford defeat

Their day got off to the perfect start when Harvey Barnes gave them the lead in the 27th lead of the match.

But Brentford came roaring back to secure victory, with Kevin Schade equalising before Igor Thiago bagged a brace.

Dan Burn was sent off in the 73rd minute of the contest, with Howe then substituting Nick Pope - who was replaced by Aaron Ramsdale.

Now, the Newcastle boss has revealed that Pope was actually concussed and that he had no choice but to make the change.

"Initially, I wasn't told anything in the sense that he was concussed and then a message came that we wasn't feeling too well and he had to come off. It probably affects (whether he reports for England duty), yeah," he said.

Newcastle have toiled this season and now sit 14th in the table.

Howe admits that his side struggled in the second half but insists they're capable of bouncing back, with plenty of games on the horizon.

"Really difficult second half for us. Whatever could go wrong did go wrong," he admitted.

"We didn't respond to the first goal well enough and then the second goal and the red card, which cost us the game.

"We showed a good mentality to our defending in the first half and we stood up to that task. Just that one throw-in and it cost us and it was a big turning point in the match.

"I thought we were there mentally and trying to give our best to the game, and we were possibly lacking in confidence today.

"The Champions League, you have to forget about it too a degree but the Premier League is everything.

"At the moment, we are suffering. We know we will rightly be criticised for our away form, and all we can do is stick together and fight back."

Brentford boss Keith Andrews, meanwhile, was delighted with his side's victory.

"I think first half we edged the game but we didn't create too many clear opportunities and then I think in the second half, we upped things in all departments," he said.

"It's always about the reactions and we were nice and calm at half-time and spoke about what we needed to fine-tune.

"Adding a level of calmness to the second half was key. Stopping transitions was a big part of it and we were worthy of the win.

"Very nice. I thought we could have got one or two more. I feel that's been a weapon for us for a long time. We looked a real threat."

On Thiago, he added: "He has been pretty good, hasn't he? He played here last season against Newcastle and I remember he was a real focal point for us and we won.

"He is growing in stature and confidence and he has been pretty sensational this season."