'St James' Park is a safe place for us' Newcastle United star makes away form admission as Champions League offers respite

This wasn't a performance full of fireworks, but Newcastle stepped up to answer some big questions against Athletic Club on Wednesday night. The defeat at West Ham United three days earlier had been characterised as the worst of Eddie Howe's reign, with the players' application, body language and mentality called into question.

At St James' Park, Newcastle are so tough to contain. Like the wins over Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Fulham in the Premier League, the team were far from their scintillating best, with a hangover from Sunday certainly in the air. But home comforts proved key again, as Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali admitted afterwards, despite away day misery prevailing.

“Top players always want to play in the Champions League,” Guimaraes said. “We always want to give our best, especially at home with this support. St James’ Park is a safe place for us. We love to play here. It made the difference again.

Newcastle United put away day misery to one side as Athletic Club well-beaten

“We owed the supporters after our performance against West Ham. We don’t want to feel like we felt after the game. We have to play away the same way we play at home. On Sunday, we have another chance [against Brentford] and the message in the changing room is that we don’t want to feel that way again."

“Playing away is so different to playing at home,” said Tonali. “It is easier playing here with our people. But we need to change quickly because every time we play away it is a tough game.

“We’ve played one away game in the Champions League against Union Saint-Gilloise and we played with confidence like we do at home. We need to understand that because it is tough for every team to play away.”

This game had all the hallmarks of a potential banana skin if Newcastle weren't up for the fight. Athletic could be easily underestimated, given their own poor domestic form and one Champions League win to their name. With star men Nico Williams and Oihan Sancet missing from the travelling party, too, it would be easy to assume Newcastle should cruise to a third successive win in Europe, a feat they hadn't achieved for 18 years.

But overconfidence could not be allowed to feature in anybody's minds off the back of Sunday's horror show at the London Stadium. Quality and efficiency are rarely an issue for Newcastle, particularly at St James' Park, but it is also rare for them to show such a lack of both, let alone energy, intensity and purpose, so often the key ingredient in Howe's side. That could not be allowed to happen again; thankfully it didn't, as Newcastle rose to sixth in the Champions League table.

Anthony Gordon, hooked at half time at the weekend, was again taken off early, though this time with what looked like an injury. His campaign has been strange; without a goal contribution in 19 Premier League games, but Newcastle's top scorer in the Champions League with four, embodying what is becoming a stark contrast in form between the two competitions.

Confidence is clearly low, both in himself and from the fans who groaned at every failed attempt to beat his man; he also gave the ball away which resulted in Athletic crashing an effort against the post after Dan Burn had given Newcastle the lead with an incredible header.

But Howe was reluctant to point the finger at Gordon after West Ham, and he was far from the only culprit of sloppy play on another night that could have been much easier than it turned out to be. Joelinton secured the win four minutes after half time, but it was far from convincing with a second trip to the capital to face Brentford in the offing.

The electricity which usually courses through the city on a Champions League match day was distinctly lacking and it was a nervous, subdued atmosphere in the stadium, particularly in the first half. Athletic and Newcastle are bonded as clubs due to their unique identities and how football is closely tied to both; there was joy and celebration before and after the match, but the tension was also undeniable.

For all the talk of inconsistency, Newcastle have won six out of their last eight games, but only one of those victories has come on the road. Results like Wednesday are important but only if they are backed up in the Premier League, especially away from St James' Park. Sunday, at Brentford, is where everything will be put into perspective. Another huge test awaits.