Sean Longstaff will live the dream of every one of his fellow Newcastle United fans on Sunday with a tilt at ending the club’s long wait for trophy in the League Cup final.
But he wouldn’t be at Wembley – or even still at Newcastle – if team-mate Matt Ritchie hadn’t spotted he was struggling mentally and in desperate need of help.
Longstaff was, by his own admission, in a “bad place”. Out of the team under Steve Bruce, beset by injuries and acting up in training, Ritchie spotted he was spiralling and pulled him to one side after training. Later that night he texted him the number of a sports psychologist and told him to contact him immediately.
It was a life-changing intervention that Longstaff credits with saving his Newcastle career.
“I remind him every couple of months and he gets embarrassed,” he says, perched on a stool at Newcastle’s Carabao Cup media day. It is a time to look forward to the club’s biggest game for decades but for Longstaff, a fitting point to reflect.
“Matty (Ritchie) was the one who initially pulled us aside and said ‘Longy you need help’.
“I was miserable, to be fair. In training I was a bit of a t*t and I wasn’t nice to be around and he eventually saw that.
“Some people just let you drift away but he was the one who pulled me back and he said ‘Longy you need to sort it out’ and he texted one night.
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“Two and a half years later, if it wasn’t for him getting me on the right track I probably wouldn’t be playing for Newcastle now.
“I’m really, really grateful for him and the manager and the staff.”
Longstaff was the boy who burst onto the scene at Newcastle. Elevated to the team in a time of crisis under Rafa Benitez, he delivered a series of performances that persuaded Manchester United to bid £50m for him. A ringing endorsement from Michael Carrick, who is showing at Middlesbrough that he is a fine judge of player, was key.
Newcastle turned down the offer, Benitez walked away and a serious knee injury slowed his progress. He returned too quickly, couldn’t recapture his form and paid the price.
“It was obviously tough on the pitch as well,” he said.
“When you’re not winning this can be quite a tough place to be at times. As a young lad you take on all the pressure and all the expectations of everyone.
“I’m just happy I’m out the other side of that now and I’m a lot happier. I’m smiling a lot more. Even every day it’s not a grind to come in.
“People think you’ve got the best job in the world but sometimes it can be the toughest job in the world. So I hope I’ve got a lot more perspective on it now and I can enjoy it more. I hope people can see in the performances, they’re a lot more free. I’m just enjoying my football.
“It’s always been there. I know now it’s just trying to sort out the mind and keep everything nice and calm.”
Longstaff has become a regular under Eddie Howe and was the hero of the second leg of Newcastle’s semi-final against Southampton, scoring twice to seal their Wembley place.
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“It was a culmination of the ups and downs and hitting a major high,” Longstaff says.
“My family were so proud and they have dealt with me when it wasn;t going so well.”
Often supporters concentrate on what Longstaff can’t do rather than the many things he excels at. It is the curse of the homegrown player: had he been expensively bought he might not suffer quite so many slings.
“I do think it’s harder. When you’re good they [the fans] think you’re Maradona and probably think you’re better than you are,” Sean Longstaff says.
“Then, when you aren’t doing so well you get more stick than maybe some of the others but just because, I think, they relate to you more than they relate to other players.
“I can’t say I wasn’t the same when I was a fan to be fair.”
No-one in the squad needs to be reminded of the club’s long barren run when it comes to silverware.
“I don’t think people thought it would be this team that would win a trophy for Newcastle so that’s driving us on even more,” Longstaff says.
“I think this club is going to get there and win leagues and hopefully win trophies but to be the team that wins the first trophy would be really special and that’s what’s really driving us.”
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