NEWPORT County AFC utility man Ciaran Brennan admits he's at a loss to explain the disparity between the Exiles' promotion-winning home form and relegation results on the road.
County returned to winning ways last Saturday with a 3-0 win over Harrogate Town at Rodney Parade, a result which came just four days after a 5-0 humiliation at Accrington Stanley.
Nelson Jardim's men are currently ranked 23rd out of the 24 clubs in League Two after claiming 13 points from 19 games on their travels. That works out at just 0.68 points per games - 31 points when extrapolated over a 46-game campaign.
But, while they would be relegated if they played all their games away from home, County would be automatic promotion candidates if they were to play only in Newport.
They are currently the sixth best in the division at home with 33 points from 18 games - 1.83 points per game and 84 points over a 46-game season.
Jardim, who is preparing for the long trip to Grimsby Town this weekend, is well aware that there is a problem away from Rodney Parade.
“We want to finish the strongly and for that we have to address a couple of things when we play away, that's more than obvious,” said the Portuguese.
“We are looking into different areas to change a couple of things to improve, to be more competitive and get more results away.
“We have managed to pick up points away at tough places - Notts County, Colchester, Wimbledon - but we have to be consistent.”
“There are a lot of things that we can change and we are looking at that,” added Jardim. “It's not just this season, it's last season as well.
“The group cannot be good at home and then average away, so we have find ways to help them. I will always be on the solution side of things.”
Brennan cannot explain the Exiles' travel sickness, though he did point to the crucial factor of the Rodney Parade crowd in NP19.
"It's a difficult question to answer," said the 24-year-old centre-back, who returned from injury in a defensive midfield role against Harrogate.
"I don't know if it's a coincidence, I can't put my finger on it. It's hard for me to speak for the group and say.
"Every time we play at home the crowd is great, they get behind us and we're very good with that momentum behind us.
I don't know if that's a contributing factor when we go away from home.
"Like I say, it's hard to put your finger on it, but all we've got to do is take our home form into the away games and we'll be fine."
