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

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

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

Consider this team went on to overtake Real Madrid into sixth place 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 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 playing style and a game plan that works, that's highly successful," the Newcastle head coach said.

"For whatever reason we have not been winning the games 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 team to hide as they were subjected to what back Dan Burn described as a "deeply uncomfortable" analysis session in the days after the West Ham defeat.

"We saw 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 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 home side hardly needed any added motivation to play in a Champions League fixture under the lights at St James'.

In his matchday 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 outcomes certainly support that claim.

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% victory rate at St James' this season. That record should be even better - last-minute goals proved costly against Arsenal and Liverpool – but these top contenders 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 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 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 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 less contact in the enemy area (110) and they have only had 50% fewer shots on target (13) on their travels, which underscores the difficulties they have faced breaking teams down.

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 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 defensive effort 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 repeatedly bypassed on the road in recent weeks.

Burn has spoken of the need to "be a bit more ugly", referencing how his side were "well-known a few years ago for physical play."

Howe recognised 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 "quality, execution 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 perform and get the job done."