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

This past weekend, Eddie Howe's squad endured a bruising 3-1 loss against struggling West Ham at London Stadium.

That outcome that left struggling away Newcastle sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Consider 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 a few days later.

It was their fifth straight home victory, but that was not reason to rejoice for Howe.

The upcoming visit to Brentford was not far from his mind as Newcastle look to finally address 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 is effective, that's really effective," the Newcastle manager said.

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

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

Home Strengths at 'Safe' 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" 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. "However, that is the best way to learn.

"Sometimes you must have some uncomfortable conversations and the manager is skilled at doing that. He is always very honest with what he says."

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

The hosts 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 support that claim.

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 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 bottom of the table Wolves are the only side to have scored less (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 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 defensive strength as a foundation earlier in the campaign following shutouts against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in their opening three away games of the season.

But the visitors have since conceded 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 less times (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 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 "skill, execution and, above all, the attitude".

"It comes down to 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 actually do the business."