Pardew bemoans Newcastle inconsistency

The Magpies manager was frustrated at the gaps that his team left for Hull City Tigers to exploit in a thrilling match at St James's Park

Alan Pardew lamented Newcastle's lack of consistency after going down 3-2 at home to Hull City Tigers on Saturday.

Loic Remy twice gave his side the lead in the first half but Robbie Brady and Ahmed Elmohamady struck equalisers to keep Steve Bruce's side in the game before Sone Aluko hit a superb winner from the edge of the box with 14 minutes left.

Newcastle had come into the game off the back of two wins in their previous two Premier League matches, leaving Pardew puzzled as to why they could not hold on for the three points against a newly promoted Hull side.

"We weren't tight enough as a team, we were loose and Hull exploited those spaces," the Newcastle boss told reporters.

"It's the consistency of performance that this team is searching for.

"The team that finished fifth [in 2011-12] ... you can see similarities in this team but that team had a consistency in performance as a team, not as individuals.

"[On Saturday] the formation was the same, the setup was the same but we looked not the same.

"We were too loose and gifted them goals and you can't do that against any opposition. And Hull - I'll be the first to pay tribute to them because they played very well but, for us, it is a really disappointing day."