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Should there be a short span that summed up Newcastle United's puzzling season.

This past weekend, Eddie Howe's squad endured a bruising 3-1 defeat against lowly West Ham at London Stadium.

That outcome that left travel-sick Newcastle sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

To think this team went on to overtake 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 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 away-day woes 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 is effective, that's really effective," the Newcastle manager said.

"For whatever reason we have not been winning the games 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 likely growing more aware of it."

Home Comforts at 'Safe' 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 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 uncomfortable conversations and the coach is skilled at doing that. He is always very honest with what he says."

Burn, who went on to open the scoring with a powerful header, always knew that Newcastle would bounce back against Athletic.

The home side hardly needed any added motivation to contest 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 "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 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 statistic should be even better - last-minute goals proved damaging 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 solitary strike.

Away-Day Blues

However it has been a very different story away from home.

Newcastle have only won four league games on their away trips 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 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 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 enemy area (110) and they have only had 50% fewer shots on target (13) on their travels, which underscores the difficulties they have faced penetrating defenses.

Newcastle could at least rely on their solidity 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 backline work 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 often circumvented on the road in recent weeks.

Burn has spoken of the need to "be a bit more ugly", referencing how his side were "renowned 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 mindset".

"It's about playing a game of football and producing a good performance – regardless of where we are playing," he said.

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