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If ever a short span that encapsulated Newcastle United's curious season.

On Sunday, Eddie Howe's squad endured a heavy 3-1 loss against lowly 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 the sixth spot in the Champions League standings following a 2-0 win against Athletic Club at St James' Park a few 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 away-day woes after failing to win 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 works, that's really effective," the Newcastle head coach said.

"For whatever reason we have not been securing victories away from home that we ought to have.

"Now we're sort of caught in that cycle where it's turning into an issue of conversation and we're probably becoming more aware of it."

Home Comforts at 'Secure' St James'

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

There was no place for the team to hide as they were put through what defender 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. "But that's the best way to learn.

"You have got to have some uncomfortable conversations and the manager is quite good at doing that. He is always straightforward with what he says."

Burn, who went on to score first with a bullet header, always knew that Newcastle would bounce back against Athletic.

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

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

And results certainly support that claim.

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% 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

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

Newcastle have only won four league games on their travels in 2025 and they have looked lacking sharpness 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 scored less (one) on the road.

Jacob Murphy's opener against West Ham was a uncommon instance of this side being ruthless 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 fewer touches in the opposition box (110) and they have only had half as many shots on target (13) on their travels, which highlights the difficulties they have faced penetrating defenses.

Newcastle could at least rely on their defensive strength as a foundation earlier in the campaign following clean sheets against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in their first three road matches of the season.

But the visitors 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 much-lauded 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 physical play."

Howe recognised his side "might require 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, most importantly, the attitude".

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

"The only way we can address those doubts is to play well and actually do the business."