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

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

It was a result that left struggling away Newcastle languishing in the lower reaches of the Premier League table.

To think this side went on to leapfrog 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.

That marked their fifth straight 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 road struggles 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 works, that's highly successful," the Newcastle head coach 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 becoming a topic of conversation and we're probably becoming more aware of it."

Home Comforts at 'Secure' St James'

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

There was no place for the team to hide as they were subjected to 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 expect from ourselves," Burn said. "However, that is the best way to learn.

"Sometimes you must have some tough talks and the coach is skilled 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 respond 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, captain 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 their own turf in the last month alone.

They have a 70% win rate at St James' this season. That record 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 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 netted fewer (one) on the road.

Jacob Murphy's first goal against West Ham was a uncommon instance 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 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 50% fewer shots on target (13) on their travels, which underscores the challenges they have faced breaking teams down.

Newcastle could at least fall back 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 forward pressure, 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 repeatedly bypassed on the road in recent weeks.

Burn has spoken of the need to "adopt a grittier approach", referencing how his side were "renowned 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 "quality, execution and, most importantly, the attitude".

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

"Our sole method we can address those doubts is to perform and actually do the business."