🔗 Share this article

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

On Sunday, Eddie Howe's squad endured a bruising 3-1 loss against lowly West Ham at London Stadium.

That outcome that left struggling away Newcastle sitting 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 straight 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 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 style of play and a method of play that is effective, that's really effective," the Newcastle head coach said.

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

Home Strengths at 'Secure' St James'

Newcastle's players were definitely reminded 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 "deeply uncomfortable" 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. "However, that is the best way to learn.

"Sometimes you must 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 bullet header, always knew that Newcastle would bounce back against Athletic.

The home side 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, skipper 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 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 record should be even better - last-minute goals proved damaging 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

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

Newcastle have only won four league games on their away trips in 2025 and they have looked especially blunt 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 first goal against West Ham was a rare example of this side being ruthless 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 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 difficulties 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 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 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 "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, execution and, most importantly, the attitude".

"It comes down to playing a game of football and producing a good performance – no matter where we are playing," he said.

"The only way we can answer those questions is to perform and actually do the business."