Sean Longstaff admission and modest take on return to Leeds United side as huge Whites boost is hailed
Sean Longstaff has a spring in his step entering the international break.
Sean Longstaff has made a frank admission following his return to the Leeds United side which arrived hand-in-hand with a huge personal milestone and ultimately massive Whites boost.
Longstaff started ten of United’s first 12 league games last season following his switch from Newcastle United but a calf injury brought the run to a halt and the midfielder was then restricted to minutes from the bench following his return in the new year.
Longstaff, though, who had been continually impressing this season as a second-half substitute, was handed a first league start for almost a year in Saturday’s hosting of Tottenham which also marked his 200th career appearance as a player.
Better still, the big career milestone then went hand-in-hand with a Leeds victory, Longstaff saluting boosts from both a team and personal perspective heading into the international break.
The 29-year-old admitted his start against Spurs restored the full feeling of being a footballer, the midfielder giving a modest assessment of his own display as he saluted a massive three points for Daniel Farke’s Whites.
“Obviously I have not sort of played a Premier League game in a long while so it's a nice feeling,” said Longstaff to LUTV.
“Nice to have the feeling of being a footballer back really”
“It was good. Even the night before you are there for the first time in a long time and you feel like you're preparing for a game, not that you don't when you're a substitute but obviously it's always different when you're not starting a game.
"So for me, it was just nice to have the feeling of being a footballer back really.
"Obviously it was always going to be tough, you have been out of the team for so long you are probably never going to come in and set the world alight but I tried to work as hard as possible and obviously a massive result for us."
But for Spurs keeper Antonin Kinsky, Longstaff would have also had a goal to celebrate against Tottenham, the Spurs stopper producing a brilliant save to top his shot on the turn over the bar midway through the second half.
“He keeps making really good saves against us the Tottenham goalie”
"I probably had a split second longer than I thought actually,” said Longstaff.
"I just tried to swivel and hit it and he keeps making really good saves against us the Tottenham goalie.
"It could have been better but at the end of the day we have won the game.
"On another day we probably could have scored a few more but not the form we are in but the feeling around it was we needed to get a win by any means necessary and we have done that today and everyone's really happy inside."
Reflecting on 200 games personally as a pro, Longstaff beamed: "Of course a really proud moment for me and my family.
“I think if when you are a young kid if someone says you are going to play 200 games in the best league in the world I think you probably snap their hand off so for me it's a really proud day and even better that I get to do it with starting the game and obviously against a really good team in Tottenham, one of the in-form teams in the league. A massive three points for us.”