Coles is certain Saints will produce a big response against Falcons

But the England forward knows he and his team-mates must find a way to produce far more consistent performances in the weeks and months to come.

Saints had gone into last Sunday’s Gallagher Premiership game at Saracens on a high after claiming back-to-back bonus-point wins in Europe.

But Phil Dowson’s men were 24-0 down at the break at StoneX Stadium before eventually suffering a 39-24 defeat.

It is a result that has left them 10 points adrift of the play-off places with eight of their 18 league matches played.

And they now know they can’t afford to slip up again when the Falcons come calling for a key clash this weekend.

"The table doesn't lie and we've got to come back against Newcastle and I'm certain we'll get a response against them," Coles said.

“The thing is then, can we bring it every week when it's not an away game in Europe against the Bulls?

“It's easy to get up for those one-off games but the challenge is to come in every week when it's attritional in the Premiership and bring it every week?

“We'll definitely get a response against Newcastle and then we've got to keep going.

“It's a sell-out so we're all really excited to get back home and show a response at Franklin's Gardens.”

​So what went wrong at Saracens?

“We didn't win enough of the battles out there on the pitch,” Coles said.

“As individuals, as a team, we didn't look after the ball when we had it.

“When they had it, they won it back too easily off kicks so we just camped in our own half the whole time and they'll punish you if you give them that much field position.

“It's horrible because you go away against the Bulls and produce that performance and then come and produce that first 40 minutes.

“It's so frustrating because we know how good we can be, but we are just searching for what is going to make us consistent every week.”