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Should there be a four-day period that encapsulated Newcastle United's curious season.

This past weekend, Eddie Howe's squad suffered a heavy 3-1 loss against lowly West Ham at London Stadium.

That outcome 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 standings following a 2-0 win against Athletic Club at St James' Park just days later.

That marked 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 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 manager said.

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

"Now we're sort of caught 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 back Dan Burn described as a "very painful" analysis session in the days after the West Ham defeat.

"It was clear how far off we were from what we expect from ourselves," Burn said. "But that's the best way to learn.

"You have got to have some tough talks and the manager is quite good at doing that. He is always straightforward with what he says."

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

The hosts hardly needed any added motivation to contest 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 "secure environment for us where we know we play our best football."

And results certainly back those words up.

Newcastle have beaten Athletic, Tottenham, Fulham, Benfica and Nottingham Forest by an aggregate scoreline 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 - late concessions 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 solitary strike.

Away-Day Blues

However 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 lacking sharpness 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 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 fewer touches in the opposition box (110) and they have only had 50% fewer shots on target (13) on their travels, which highlights the difficulties they have faced penetrating defenses.

Newcastle could at least fall back on their defensive strength as a base to build from earlier in the campaign following shutouts against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in their first three road matches of the season.

But the away side have since leaked five goals in just two matches versus Brighton and West Ham.

That defensive effort 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 "be a bit more ugly", referencing how his side were "well-known a few years ago for physical play."

Howe acknowledged 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, delivery and, above all, 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 play well and get the job done."