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If ever a short span that summed up Newcastle United's puzzling season.

This past weekend, Eddie Howe's squad suffered a heavy 3-1 loss 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 team 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 a few days later.

That marked their fifth consecutive home victory, but that was not reason to rejoice for Howe.

The upcoming visit to Brentford was not far from his mind as Newcastle aim to at last tackle their away-day woes after not securing a victory on the road in the league since April.

"It's very disappointing because I think we have a playing style and a method of play that is effective, that's highly successful," the Newcastle manager said.

"Somehow we have not been securing victories away from home that we should have.

"We find ourselves stuck in that cycle where it's becoming a topic of conversation and we're probably becoming more aware of it."

Home Comforts at 'Secure' St James'

Newcastle's squad were certainly made aware of it earlier this week.

There was no place for the squad to hide as they were put through what back Dan Burn described as a "deeply uncomfortable" review meeting in the days after the West Ham defeat.

"We saw how far off we were from what we demand from ourselves," Burn said. "However, that is the best way to learn.

"Sometimes you must have some uncomfortable conversations and the coach is quite good at doing that. He is always straightforward with what he says."

Burn, who went on to score first with a powerful header, always knew that Newcastle would respond against Athletic.

The home side hardly needed any extra incentive to play in a Champions League match under the lights at St James'.

In his matchday notes, ahead of the game, skipper Bruno Guimaraes even wrote that the stadium was a "secure environment for us where we know we perform at our peak."

And outcomes certainly back those words up.

Newcastle have defeated Athletic, Tottenham, Fulham, Benfica and Nottingham Forest by an combined score of 11-1 on home soil in the last month alone.

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

Each by a single goal.

Away-Day Blues

Yet it has been a completely different tale away from home.

Newcastle have only won four matches on their away trips in 2025 and they have looked especially blunt of late.

Howe's side have scored a quarter as many goals (two) away as they have at home in the league (eight), and bottom of the table Wolves are the only side to have scored less (one) on the road.

Jacob Murphy's first goal against West Ham was a rare example of this side being ruthless away from home in the league – just 26 seconds after Hammers captain Jarrod Bowen had hit the woodwork.

Though Newcastle have had more possession away (56%) than at home (47.1%), according to Opta, Howe's team have had 30 fewer touches in the enemy area (110) and they have only had 50% fewer shots on target (13) on their travels, which underscores the challenges they have faced penetrating defenses.

Newcastle could at least rely on their solidity as a base to build from earlier in the campaign following clean sheets against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in their opening three away games 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 press from the front, but Newcastle have won the ball on eight fewer occasions (16) away than at home (24), while highly-praised midfield trio Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Guimaraes have been often circumvented on the road in recent weeks.

Burn has spoken of the need to "be a bit more ugly", referencing how his side were "renowned a few years ago for something-housery."

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 "skill, execution and, above all, the attitude".

"It's about playing a game of football and delivering a good performance – regardless of where we are playing," he said.

"Our sole method we can answer those questions is to perform and get the job done."