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

On Sunday, Eddie Howe's team suffered a heavy 3-1 loss against lowly West Ham at London Stadium.

It was a result that left struggling away Newcastle sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

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

It was their fifth consecutive 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 very disappointing because I think we have a style of play and a game plan that is effective, that's really effective," the Newcastle manager said.

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

"Now we're sort of caught in that cycle where it's becoming a topic of conversation and we're likely growing more aware of it."

Home Comforts at 'Secure' St James'

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

They had nowhere for the squad to hide as they were put through what defender Dan Burn described as a "very painful" 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 tough talks and the manager is quite good at doing that. He is always straightforward with what he says."

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

The home side hardly needed any added motivation to play in 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 perform at our peak."

And results certainly back those words up.

Newcastle have beaten Athletic, Tottenham, Fulham, Benfica and Nottingham Forest by an aggregate scoreline of 11-1 on home soil 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.

Away-Day Blues

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

Newcastle have only won four league games on their away trips 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 bottom of the table Wolves are the only side to have netted fewer (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 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 opposition box (110) and they have only had half as many shots on target (13) on their travels, which highlights the challenges they have faced breaking teams down.

Newcastle could at least fall back on their solidity 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 possession back 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 "adopt a grittier approach", referencing how his side were "well-known 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 – no matter where we are playing," he said.

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