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

On Sunday, Eddie Howe's team endured a bruising 3-1 defeat against struggling West Ham at London Stadium.

That outcome that left struggling away Newcastle sitting in the lower reaches of the Premier League table.

To think this side went on to overtake Real Madrid into sixth place 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 consecutive home victory, but that was not reason to rejoice for Howe.

Sunday's trip to Brentford was not far from his mind as Newcastle look 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 style of play and a method of play 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 trap where it's turning into an issue of conversation and we're probably becoming more aware of it."

Home Strengths 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 subjected to what back Dan Burn described as a "deeply uncomfortable" review meeting in the days after the West Ham defeat.

"It was clear 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 tough talks and the coach is quite good at doing that. He is always straightforward with what he says."

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

The hosts 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, captain Bruno Guimaraes even wrote that the stadium was a "safe place for us where we know we play our best football."

And outcomes certainly support that claim.

Newcastle have defeated 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% victory rate at St James' this season. That record should be even better - last-minute goals proved damaging 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 solitary strike.

Travel Troubles

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

Newcastle have only won four matches on their travels 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 last-placed 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 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 breaking teams down.

Newcastle could at least rely on their solidity as a foundation 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 conceded five goals in just two matches versus Brighton and West Ham.

That backline work starts with the forward pressure, 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 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 "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 "skill, execution and, above all, 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 perform and get the job done."