A victorious end to 2025 on the road for Newcastle United must mark the start of a (far-too belated) dramatic upturn in away form in 2026.

If a 3-1 victory over promoted Burnley reads like a comfortable scoreline, the second half was anything but. Those 45 minutes represented a snapshot of Newcastle’s general Premier League performances on their travels across 2025.

Uncomfortable leaders, too often causing their own problems in possession, disjointed in midfield and wasteful in attack. While their issue at Old Trafford on Friday when boasting a degree of ‘control’ in terms of possession and territory was their lack of threat, their shortcomings at Burnley stemmed from being profligate and porous.

Balance between attack and defence continues to elude them.

There was one key difference, however, and it was the statistic that matters most. For just the sixth time in 19 Premier League away matches across 2025, Newcastle won.

Having started 2025 with an impressive 2-1 win at Tottenham, Newcastle have bookended an appalling year on the road with another triumph. At the halfway point of the 2025-26 top-flight campaign, they have also levelled out their number of defeats (seven) with victories (seven) and recorded just their second away victory from 10.

“How s*** must you be, we’re winning away,” the travelling support chorused during added time. And little wonder, because opportunities for Newcastle fans to celebrate in away ends have become far too rare.

The 4-1 trouncing of Everton last month proved a positive from which Newcastle failed to kick on. It was followed by the pitiful and damaging 1-0 defeat at Sunderland, and the toothless 1-0 reversal at Manchester United.

With bottom-of-the-table and winless Wolverhampton Wanderers next on the road, Newcastle must record successive away league victories for the first time since April. With Crystal Palace and Leeds United in successive home games beforehand, Newcastle have an excellent opportunity to string a run of positive results together and make a charge back towards the European positions.

To sustain such a challenge, the discrepancy between their home and away from must be reduced. Newcastle average a full point per game more at St James’ Park (1.9) than they do on the road (0.9).

Worryingly, both of those represent a decline on 2023-24, the last time Newcastle were in the Champions League and when Eddie Howe’s side also suffered from travel sickness. That season, Newcastle averaged 2.1 points per game at home and 1.1 away.

Eddie Howe and Joelinton celebrate victory at Turf Moor. (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

As consistently good as home returns have been throughout Howe’s tenure, their meagre away haul has only placed greater pressure on St James’ results. Howe may keep saying it is “irrelevant” to him whether Newcastle are home or away — attempting to outline his belief that his team should perform in the same manner regardless of venue — but evidently they thrive upon the comforts offered on Tyneside.

Alarmingly, Newcastle’s away fixtures have been relatively kind so far. They have yet to travel to Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea or Arsenal (where they have appalling records, Crystal Palace (where they have often come unstuck), or Tottenham, who are theoretically direct European rivals.

Having collected only a point from trips to Leeds United and Sunderland, finally they have taken all three from a promoted side.

And that is why an at-times-torturous victory at Burnley feels like it could be so significant. It can be — must be — a starting point from which Newcastle can build.

Joelinton scores Newcastle’s first goal (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Joelinton’s performance on his 200th Premier League appearance was encouraging, with the Brazilian scoring a sublime opener — his first league goal in precisely a year — and marauding around midfield. When the 29-year-old is at his best, he is Newcastle’s heartbeat; an inspirational figure through actions, not words.

Yoane Wissa also marked his first Premier League start for Newcastle with a goal inside seven minutes, just as he had scored on his full debut against Fulham. The poacher’s nature of his goal spotlighted the fresh dimension he brings to the team. Wissa is a different striker stylistically to Nick Woltemade and finally his finishing prowess is available to Howe.

Nick Pope returning for the first time since November 25 was also consequential. The England international made important second-half saves, including a match-defining stop with his legs from Marcus Edwards, and offered greater surety to a backline short of belief.

Yet there are still glaring deficiencies which must be improved upon.

Newcastle have conceded in each of their last 12 Premier League matches, as well as in every one of their last dozen games across all competitions. Defensive injuries are biting and, until Newcastle start recording clean sheets again, they will seldom win regularly, especially away.

Burnley marked only the second occasion Newcastle have scored more than once in an away game this season. In half of those matches, Howe’s team have left without a goal.

If that trend requires further addressing, at least Newcastle did not squander another lead, having lost a Premier League-high 13 points from leading positions this season, six of them on the road. Against most Premier League teams, they probably would have dropped points given the volume of second-half opportunities Burnley had but they somehow they found a route to victory.

At no stage were Newcastle in command, with their midfield lacking cohesion and the team’s persistent inability to keep hold of possession afflicting them once more. They needed character and grit to see out the win, albeit in nervy and messy fashion.

“This was a massive win for us,” Howe told reporters afterwards. “It was vital we got it over the line.”

Newcastle need to generate persistent positive Premier League momentum.

This final performance of 2025 may have been far from season-affirming, but it was still a victory. Rather than represent an ending, Newcastle must ensure this represents the beginning of an away-form uplift for 2026.