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Should there be a four-day period that summed up Newcastle United's puzzling season.

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

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

Consider 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 a few days later.

It was their fifth consecutive home victory, but that was not cause for celebration for Howe.

The upcoming visit to Brentford was not far from his mind as Newcastle aim 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 game plan that works, that's highly successful," the Newcastle manager said.

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

"We find ourselves stuck 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 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 back 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. "But that's the best way to learn.

"You have got to have some tough talks 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 respond against Athletic.

The home side hardly needed any added motivation to contest a Champions League fixture under the lights at St James'.

In his matchday notes, ahead of the game, captain Bruno Guimaraes even wrote that the stadium was a "safe place for us where we know we perform at our peak."

And outcomes 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% 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

However it has been a completely different tale away from home.

Newcastle have only won four matches on their travels in 2025 and they have looked lacking sharpness of late.

Howe's side have scored a quarter as many goals (two) away as they have at home in the league (eight), and last-placed Wolves are the only side to have netted fewer (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 less contact in the enemy area (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 solidity 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 away side have since leaked 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 possession back on eight fewer occasions (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 "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 "skill, delivery and, above all, the mindset".

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

"Our sole method we can address those doubts is to perform and get the job done."