Should there be a four-day period that summed up Newcastle United's curious season.
On Sunday, Eddie Howe's squad suffered a bruising 3-1 defeat against struggling West Ham at London Stadium.
That outcome that left struggling away Newcastle languishing in the lower reaches of the Premier League table.
To think this side went on to overtake 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.
It was 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 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 style of play and a method of play that is effective, that's highly successful," the Newcastle manager said.
"For whatever reason we have not been securing victories away from home that we should have.
"We find ourselves stuck in that trap where it's turning into an issue of conversation and we're likely growing more aware of it."
Home Strengths at 'Secure' St James'
Newcastle's squad were definitely reminded of it earlier this week.
They had nowhere for the squad to hide as they were subjected to what defender 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 quite good at doing that. He is always straightforward 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 hosts hardly needed any added motivation to play in a Champions League match under the lights at St James'.
In his programme notes, ahead of the game, skipper Bruno Guimaraes even wrote that the stadium was a "safe place for us where we know we perform at our peak."
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% win rate at St James' this season. That statistic should be even better - last-minute goals proved costly against Arsenal and Liverpool – but these respective title challengers 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 completely different tale away from home.
Newcastle have only won four league games 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 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 less contact in the opposition box (110) and they have only had 50% fewer shots on target (13) on their travels, which underscores the challenges they have faced breaking teams down.
Newcastle could at least rely on their defensive strength as a foundation 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 away side 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 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 "be a bit more ugly", referencing how his side were "renowned a few years ago for something-housery."
Howe acknowledged 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 "skill, delivery and, above all, the mindset".
"It's about playing a game of football and producing a good performance – no matter where we are playing," he said.
"Our sole method we can address those doubts is to play well and actually do the business."
