Sean Longstaff has been managed by Rafa Benitez, Steve Bruce and now Eddie Howe. We asked him to explain the nuances of each
Longstaff has played under three big names, each with contrasting styles(Image credit: Future)
Sean Longstaff's career as a Premier League player is six seasons old. In that time he's played under three big name characters in the English game.
His Premier League debut was handed to him by Rafa Benitez. Sadly injury, then Benitez’ departure from St. James’ Park, curtailed his time under the former Liverpool and Real Madrid manager. Steve Bruce was Longstaff's next boss, he played 65 times under the former Manchester United captain before a takeover saw a change of pace at Newcastle.
Eddie Howe took over as boss in November 2022 and as Longstaff approaches his 100th game under the current man in the St. James’ Park hotseat we sat down with the midfielder to ask him about the contrasting styles of all three bosses.
Sean Longstaff on Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez managed Newcastle for 146 games and had a win ratio of 42.5 per cent (Image credit: PA)
“Rafa was great for me: a person who’d speak about football all of the time. Whether you were walking down corridors at the training ground, having lunch or walking off the pitch, he was always trying to coach you.
"You think you know what football is, then you speak to him and there’s just so much more to it.
"His defensive block – if you were half a centimetre out, he’d stop the training session and say, 'You need to do this.'"
Sean Longstaff on Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce managed Newcastle for 97 games and had a win ratio of 28.9 per cent (Image credit: PA)
“Under Rafa it was all great, then I did my knee. Whether I was ready to come back and play, I wasn’t sure, but with a new manager [Steve Bruce], I felt like I needed to. You could feel the negativity seeping in – it sounds bad, but I have to be honest.
“Steve Bruce was more about trying to be the man-manager and getting players motivated to play. Whether people agree or not with how he did it, that’s not for me to say. He was much different from the other two. Rafa and Eddie want to really coach you, whereas Steve was a manager: he picked the team and that’s it.
“From my point of view, if you got rid of the two years that followed Rafa and fast-forwarded to this manager now, I feel as though some people’s opinions of me would maybe be higher. It can be tarnished by those two and a half years. Now, with the new manager, it’s been about trying to change people’s opinions about me."
Sean Longstaff on Eddie Howe
As of March 2024 Eddie Howe has managed 115 Newcastle games and has a win ratio of 46.96 per cent (Image credit: Getty Images)
“Working under Rafa, you think you know a fair bit about the game – then Eddie Howe comes in and his attention to detail is out of this world. We’re more high-pressing and aggressive.
“People won’t realise it, but we’ve got numerous patterns of play – we have seven different types of crosses! If I was an aspiring coach now, I’d be trying to copy Eddie every day.
“He hasn’t had us sheep herding yet. I heard that on a podcast and asked him about it – he was like, ‘Ah, I just can’t get rid of this story.’ His assistant, Jason Tindall, is very good at keeping everyone together.
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“I’ve been involved in squads where the lads play, go home and that’s it, but here it’s the total opposite. The lads are here until really late and we’ll just sit in the canteen and talk about life. I think that for the majority of us, this will be the team we speak about when we retire.
Eddie Howe and Sean Longstaff applaud fans after Newcastle's 4-1 win in the Champions League vs PSG (Image credit: Getty Images)
“Eddie just believes in me more than anyone else ever has. I think he believes in me more than I believe in myself. I’ve not had someone like that for a long, long time.
“When I get pulled into his office, my initial thinking is, ‘Oh no, what’s going to happen here?’ Then I come out feeling a million dollars. He builds you up and you think, ‘I’m more than good enough – I’ve played very well at this level’.
“He also has a weird knack of saying something, then a couple of weeks later that thing happens. He’ll say, ‘We need to work on playing against 10 players’, then on the Saturday, someone will get sent off. He could say anything and I’d do it for him.
“He has helped to change my career in such a positive way. I love coming in every day. I love working with him and his coaching staff. I feel like they’ve always got my best interests at heart; there’s a lot more to come from me and I think they just want to get it out of me. The next stage is to score more goals, be more creative and be more of a leader."
A former goalkeeper, Ketch joined FourFourTwo as Deputy Editor in 2022 having worked across ChronicleLive, LeedsLive, Hull Daily Mail, YorkshireLive, Teesside Gazette and the Huddersfield Examiner as a Northern Football Editor. Prior to that he was the Senior Writer at BBC Match of the Day magazine. He has interviewed the likes of Harry Kane, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gareth Southgate and attended two World Cup finals and a Champions League final. He has been a Newcastle United season ticket holder since 2000 and has an expensive passion for collecting classic football shirts.
