SEAN EYEING UP LONG-ER STAY...
BLACKPOOL loan star Sean Longstaff wants to see out the season with Gary Bowyer’s “special” side after a blistering start to life at Bloomfield Road.
The 19-year-old midfielder thrilled his new supporters with four goals in his first nine games after joining from Newcastle in the summer.
And, with his deal up in January, Championship scouts are already clamouring for the youngster’s signature.
Longstaff, though, insists he has no intention of ditching what looks increasingly like a League One promotion push.
“I’m here for six months, but I hope we can do something to change that,” he said. “I’d love to stay longer because the team gets on and the manager’s top quality. I honestly feel like we’ve got something a bit special going on here.
“I thought it was going to be tough leaving Newcastle. It’s my home, my comfort zone, but the lads have been fantastic and the gaffer’s a joy to work with.
“He’s got that philosophy of ‘If you’re good enough, you’re old enough’. He goes through clips of all my games, tells me what I can improve on. And he’s the same with all the lads. He gives us so much of himself every day and it inspires us to do the same for him.”
Enjoyable
Longstaff ’s settling-in process has been significantly eased by the presence of North Easterners Callum Cooke and Mark Cullen.
“Mark is from Ashington, which is about ten minutes up the road from my house,” he adds. “And Callum is on loan from Middlesbrough. We’re the same age and grew up playing against each other in the youth teams.
“He played for England when he was younger, so I’d always mark him out. He was pretty hard to catch. Getting to know him and being on the same team is a lot more enjoyable than playing against him!”
Sporting advice, too, is on tap for the rangy playmaker. His uncle is former Celtic and Bolton star Alan Thompson. His dad, David, played ice hockey for Great Britain.
“My dad grew up in Whitley Bay, across the road from the ice rink,” he says. “But, with play- ing and coaching, he’s had to move all around the country. Even to Sweden for a bit.
“He’s been away for the last five years but came back to watch us (Longstaff’s younger brother, Matty, also plays for Newcastle). He’d missed out on that over the years.
“He’s always got advice. Doesn’t every dad? But he knows when to dole it out, when to give us a kick up the backside, when to lay off and let us find our own path. He thinks he always knows best – which isn’t true – but we probably do listen to him more, due to his background.”
Then, of course, there’s Newcastle legend Peter Beardsley, Longstaff ’s Under-23 coach at St James’ Park.
“He’s still the best player when he joins in, which doesn’t say much for us!” laughs Longstaff, who spent part of last season on loan at Kilmarnock.
“The other staff, my dad and grandad, they always say to me ‘You didn’t see him, you don’t understand how good he was’.
“But there was a video going round the changing room a while back. It was Messi scoring one of his wonder goals, then Peter scoring one almost identical. It’s great to work with someone like that on a daily basis.”
So does Longstaff believe he can emulate the great man and pull on the black and white No.8?
“Yeah, definitely,” he says. “But I can only do so much. At the end of the day, it’s about whether they think I’m good enough for the first team. Right now, I just want to be good enough for Blackpool.”