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Should there be a four-day period that summed up 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 travel-sick Newcastle languishing 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 just days later.

That marked their fifth straight home victory, but that was not cause for celebration for Howe.

The upcoming visit 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 hugely frustrating because I think we have a style of play and a game plan that is effective, that's really effective," the Newcastle manager said.

"For whatever reason we have not been securing victories away from home that we should have.

"We find ourselves stuck in that cycle 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 certainly made aware of it earlier this week.

They had nowhere for the team 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 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 bullet header, always knew that Newcastle would respond against Athletic.

The home side hardly needed any extra incentive 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 "secure environment for us where we know we play our best football."

And results 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% 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 beaten Howe's side on Tyneside.

Each by a single goal.

Away-Day Blues

However 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 mere fraction of the 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 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 less contact in the opposition box (110) and they have only had half as many 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 defensive strength as a base to build from 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 away side 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 the ball on eight less times (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 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 "skill, execution and, most importantly, the attitude".

"It comes down to playing a game of football and producing a good performance – regardless of where we are playing," he said.

"The only way we can address those doubts is to perform and actually do the business."