TEAM MATES BEST MATES BROTHERS

North Shields lads Sean and Matty Longstaff have come a long way since the days of fighting so much they worried their mam

THE Longstaff brothers do not argue about much these days... except when it comes to deciding who is top dog.

Sean and Matty admit that, growing up, they’d fight so much that once their mum had to ask Newcastle United to have a word with the pair, telling them to behave themselves at home.

But these days, they’re best mates – as well as Toon team-mates – and happy to talk about their respect, admiration and love for each other.

The siblings, however, beg to differ on one key issue. “I’ve got a bit of catching up to do,” said Matty, two years younger than Sean, 21, and Toon’s youngest-ever goalscoring debutant against Manchester United earlier this month (celebrating with Andy Carroll, right). “I got man of the match, but I thought Sean was the best player on the pitch by a mile.”

Sean shakes his head and makes his case: “At 19, I wasn’t ready,” he said. “I couldn’t have done what he did, control the tempo of a Premier League game.

“That’s not easy, but he’s gone out and done it in his first game. He’s miles and miles ahead of where I was at his age.

“His work-rate, everything he does off the pitch, is better than me. If I could work as hard as he does, I don’t know where I could get to.”

What makes the Longstaffs special is that they’re both midfielders, who ply their trade just yards apart on the pitch, and Magpies boss Steve Bruce (above) will not hesitate to keep them in the side at Chelsea tomorrow. “Playing alongside Sean makes it a lot easier for me,” said Matty. “You see how composed he is on the ball.

“A couple of times the other day, when I went a bit ‘headless chicken’, he was there to cover. Having him there makes me better.”

Sean doesn’t underrate the thrill of playing with his kid brother, nor does he deny how emotional he felt when Matty scored his second-half winner against United.

“It fills us with pride,” he said. “Just to be able to do it as brothers, it doesn’t happen a lot.

“Just before kick off, I looked across at Matty and thought how worldwide the Premier League is, and to have two brothers starting from North Shields, at 19 and 21, is pretty crazy. When he scored, I actually froze for a second. I didn’t know what to do.

“I filled up and thought I was going to start crying and you can’t do that in the middle of a football pitch.

“I had to try and jump on someone and hide a bit. It was pure happiness, a better feeling than when I scored my first goal.”

The older Longstaff’s elegant style has been compared to fellow Geordie

Michael Carrick, while in the aftermath of his memorable debut, Matty’s allaction game was likened to another

Old Trafford legend – and fellow ginger, Paul Scholes.

Sean uses such praise as motivation. “Big boots to fill, aren’t they?” he added. “When you hear people comparing you to someone of Michael’s calibre, it gives you a bit of motivation to see if you can get anywhere close to what he did.

“If I can have a quarter of the career he’s had, I’d probably snap your hand off.”