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

This past weekend, Eddie Howe's team suffered a heavy 3-1 defeat against struggling West Ham at London Stadium.

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

Consider 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.

It was 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 aim 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 playing style and a method of play that is effective, that's highly successful," the Newcastle head coach said.

"Somehow we have not been winning the games 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 'Safe' St James'

Newcastle's players 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.

"You have got to have some tough talks and the manager is quite good 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 hosts hardly needed any extra incentive to play in 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 "secure environment 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 home soil in the last month alone.

They have a 70% victory rate at St James' this season. That statistic 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 defeated Howe's side on Tyneside.

Each by a solitary strike.

Travel Troubles

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

Newcastle have only won four league games on their travels 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 bottom of the table Wolves are the only side to have netted fewer (one) on the road.

Jacob Murphy's opener against West Ham was a uncommon instance 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 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 penetrating defenses.

Newcastle could at least rely on their solidity 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 visitors have since leaked 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 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 something-housery."

Howe recognised 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 "quality, execution and, above all, the mindset".

"It comes down to 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 actually do the business."