🔗 Share this article

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.

It was a result that left travel-sick Newcastle sitting in the lower reaches 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 cause for celebration for Howe.

The upcoming visit to Brentford was not far from his mind as Newcastle aim to at last tackle their away-day woes 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 method of play that is effective, that's really effective," 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 turning into an issue of conversation and we're probably becoming more aware of it."

Home Comforts at 'Secure' 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" review meeting in the days after the West Ham defeat.

"We saw how far off we were from what we demand 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 powerful header, always knew that Newcastle would respond against Athletic.

The hosts 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, captain Bruno Guimaraes even wrote that the stadium was a "safe place for us where we know we play our best football."

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% victory 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 defeated Howe's side on Tyneside.

Each by a single goal.

Travel Troubles

Yet 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 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 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 ball control 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 half as many shots on target (13) on their travels, which highlights the challenges they have faced breaking teams down.

Newcastle could at least fall back 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 opening three away games of the season.

But the visitors have since conceded 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 much-lauded 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 "renowned a few years ago for something-housery."

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, execution and, most importantly, the attitude".

"It's about 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 play well and get the job done."