🔗 Share this article

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

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

That outcome that left struggling away Newcastle languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Consider this team went on to leapfrog 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 straight home victory, but that was not reason to rejoice for Howe.

The upcoming visit to Brentford was not far from his mind as Newcastle look to finally address 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 style of play and a method of play that is effective, that's highly successful," the Newcastle manager said.

"Somehow we have not been winning the games away from home that we should 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 Comforts at 'Safe' St James'

Newcastle's players were definitely reminded of it earlier this week.

There was no place for the squad to hide as they were put through what back Dan Burn described as a "very painful" review meeting in the days after the West Ham defeat.

"It was clear how far off we were from what we demand from ourselves," Burn said. "However, that is the best way to learn.

"Sometimes you must have some uncomfortable conversations and the coach is skilled 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 perform at our peak."

And outcomes certainly support that claim.

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% victory rate at St James' this season. That statistic should be even better - late concessions 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 single goal.

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 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 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 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 defensive strength 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 forward pressure, 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 repeatedly bypassed on the road in recent weeks.

Burn has spoken of the need to "adopt a grittier approach", referencing how his side were "well-known a few years ago for physical play."

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, most importantly, the mindset".

"It's about playing a game of football and delivering a good performance – no matter where we are playing," he said.

"The only way we can address those doubts is to perform and get the job done."