EDDIE HOWE has backed his "bruised" Newcastle United players to recover from the defeat at Dortmund which left his side facing an uphill battle in the Champions League - and says the Magpies can take positives despite successive European losses.

Tuesday night's 2-0 defeat in Germany which was followed by a Milan victory over PSG left Newcastle bottom of Group F and Howe's side will be out of Europe all together if they lose in Paris next time out and Milan beat Dortmund.

Howe admits that his side will likely have to win their last two games in the group after the Dortmund defeats, and while his players were initially deflated after Tuesday's setback, he says the Magpies will quickly shake off the midweek disappointment and refocus on the challenges ahead domestically and in Europe, starting with Saturday's teatime game at Bournemouth.

"I think we'll be a bit bruised but very quickly in football you get a chance to feel very differently when a new day comes," said Howe.

"We have two massive games to come (in the Champion League) and we'll try to give our all to get the results we need."

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Other than their dismantling of PSG, Newcastle have found their return to the Champions League tough and Howe admits he can't quite put his finger on why his side, for the most part, haven't been able to replicate their Premier League performances in Europe.

"It's a difficult one to answer and I'm not really sure myself," he said.

"Had the best version of ourselves turned up (in Dortmund), I think the result would have been different. I felt the same in the first game. But that's not to take anything away from Dortmund who have played us very well in the two games, you have to give them a lot of credit. This was a huge task and ultimately we weren't good enough.

"I'm disappointed. I always am when two things come together: when you don't perform to your best and you lose. Those two things are a double whammy for me. But I'm calm and collected, gathering my thoughts and we have to very quickly refocus on Bournemouth."

Despite successive Champions League defeats, Howe says there's one key takeaway that can give his side belief.

"I think from our side we weren't far away and that's the thing to take," he says.

"Us at our very best, even with the number of players we have out, I think would have been good enough (to get a result in Dortmund). The players gave so much on Sunday (against Arsenal), I think the turnaround was just too quick for us. It maybe came just a day too early."