Should there be a four-day period that summed up Newcastle United's puzzling season.
This past weekend, Eddie Howe's team endured a bruising 3-1 loss against lowly West Ham at London Stadium.
That outcome that left travel-sick Newcastle languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Consider this side went on to leapfrog Real Madrid into the sixth spot in the Champions League rankings following a 2-0 win against Athletic Club at St James' Park a few days later.
That marked 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 look to finally address their road struggles after failing to win 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 highly successful," the Newcastle manager said.
"Somehow we have not been winning the games away from home that we ought to have.
"We find ourselves stuck in that trap where it's turning into an issue of conversation and we're probably becoming more aware of it."
Newcastle's players were certainly made aware of it earlier this week.
They had nowhere for the squad to hide as they were put through 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 demand from ourselves," Burn said. "However, that is the best way to learn.
"Sometimes you must have some tough talks and the coach is quite good at doing that. He is always very honest with what he says."
Burn, who went on to open the scoring with a bullet header, always knew that Newcastle would bounce back against Athletic.
The home side hardly needed any added motivation to contest a Champions League fixture 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 play our best football."
And results certainly support that claim.
Newcastle have beaten Athletic, Tottenham, Fulham, Benfica and Nottingham Forest by an aggregate scoreline of 11-1 on home soil 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 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.
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 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 netted fewer (one) on the road.
Jacob Murphy's opener against West Ham was a uncommon instance of this side being ruthless 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 fewer touches in the enemy area (110) and they have only had half as many 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 shutouts against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Bournemouth in their first three road matches of the season.
But the away side have since leaked five goals in just two matches versus Brighton and West Ham.
That backline work starts with the forward pressure, but Newcastle have won possession back 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 "well-known a few years ago for physical play."
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, execution 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.
"The only way we can address those doubts is to play well and get the job done."
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