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If ever a four-day period that encapsulated Newcastle United's curious season.

This past weekend, Eddie Howe's squad suffered a heavy 3-1 defeat against struggling West Ham at London Stadium.

It was a result that left travel-sick Newcastle sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

To think this side went on to leapfrog Real Madrid into sixth place in the Champions League rankings following a 2-0 win against Athletic Club at St James' Park just days later.

It was their fifth straight home victory, but that was not cause for celebration for Howe.

Sunday's trip to Brentford was not far from his mind as Newcastle aim to at last tackle their road struggles after failing to win on the road in the league since April.

"It's hugely frustrating because I think we have a playing style and a game plan that works, that's highly successful," the Newcastle manager said.

"For whatever reason we have not been winning the games away from home that we ought to have.

"We find ourselves stuck in that cycle where it's turning into an issue of conversation and we're likely growing more aware of it."

Home Strengths at 'Secure' St James'

Newcastle's players were definitely reminded of it earlier this week.

They had nowhere for the squad to hide as they were put through what back Dan Burn described as a "deeply uncomfortable" analysis session in the days after the West Ham defeat.

"We saw how far off we were from what we expect from ourselves," Burn said. "But that's the best way to learn.

"You have got to have some tough talks and the manager is quite good at doing that. He is always very honest with what he says."

Burn, who went on to open the scoring with a powerful header, always knew that Newcastle would respond against Athletic.

The hosts hardly needed any added motivation to contest a Champions League match under the lights at St James'.

In his programme notes, ahead of the game, captain Bruno Guimaraes even wrote that the stadium was a "secure environment for us where we know we play our best football."

And outcomes certainly back those words up.

Newcastle have beaten Athletic, Tottenham, Fulham, Benfica and Nottingham Forest by an aggregate scoreline of 11-1 on their own turf in the last month alone.

They have a 70% win rate at St James' this season. That statistic should be even better - late concessions proved costly against Arsenal and Liverpool – but these respective title challengers and Barcelona are the only teams to have beaten Howe's side on Tyneside.

Each by a solitary strike.

Travel Troubles

However it has been a very different story away from home.

Newcastle have only won four league games on their travels in 2025 and they have looked especially blunt of late.

Howe's side have scored a mere fraction of the goals (two) away as they have at home in the league (eight), and last-placed Wolves are the only side to have netted fewer (one) on the road.

Jacob Murphy's opener against West Ham was a rare example of this side being clinical away from home in the league – just 26 seconds after Hammers captain Jarrod Bowen had struck the post.

Though Newcastle have had more ball control away (56%) than at home (47.1%), according to Opta, Howe's team have had 30 less contact in the opposition box (110) and they have only had half as many shots on target (13) on their travels, which underscores the challenges they have faced breaking teams down.

Newcastle could at least rely on their defensive strength as a base to build from earlier in the campaign following shutouts against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in their first three road matches of the season.

But the away side have since leaked five goals in just two matches versus Brighton and West Ham.

That backline work starts with the forward pressure, but Newcastle have won the ball on eight less times (16) away than at home (24), while much-lauded midfield trio Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Guimaraes have been repeatedly bypassed on the road in recent weeks.

Burn has spoken of the need to "adopt a grittier approach", referencing how his side were "well-known a few years ago for physical play."

Howe acknowledged his side "possibly need a bit of that" ahead of Sunday's trip to the Gtech Community Stadium as he called on his players to bring the "quality, delivery and, above all, the attitude".

"It's about playing a game of football and delivering a good performance – no matter where we are playing," he said.

"The only way we can address those doubts is to perform and get the job done."