🔗 Share this article

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

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

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

To think this side went on to overtake Real Madrid into sixth place in the Champions League rankings 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 cause for celebration for Howe.

The upcoming visit 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 very disappointing because I think we have a playing style and a game plan that is effective, that's really effective," the Newcastle head coach 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 'Safe' 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 "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.

"Sometimes you must have some uncomfortable conversations and the manager 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 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 "secure environment for us where we know we perform at our peak."

And outcomes certainly support that claim.

Newcastle have defeated 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 - late concessions proved costly 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 solitary strike.

Away-Day Blues

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

Newcastle have only won four matches on their travels 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 bottom of the table Wolves are the only side to have netted fewer (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 possession 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 50% fewer shots on target (13) on their travels, which underscores the difficulties they have faced breaking teams down.

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 first three road matches of the season.

But the visitors have since conceded five goals in just two matches versus Brighton and West Ham.

That backline work starts with the forward pressure, but Newcastle have won the ball on eight less times (16) away than at home (24), while much-lauded 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 "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, delivery and, above all, 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 answer those questions is to play well and get the job done."