Eddie Howe has hailed the recent form of Sean Longstaff and highlighted the extra work the Newcastle United midfielder has been putting in during training.
The Newcastle United academy graduate has struggled as of late, but has been amongst the goals in recent weeks, netting two goals in his last two appearances. His finish against Burnley was very impressive, while he got himself in the right position once again on Saturday.
Sean Longstaff netted Newcastle’s equaliser against Brighton, and it could prove to be a decisive point. For the 26-year-old, it was his eighth goal of the season. That is the best tally of his career, and it is a testament to the effort he has been putting in behind the scenes.
Eddie Howe delighted with Sean Longstaff’s work
That is according to Eddie Howe, who spoke about Longstaff’s goalscoring exploits during his pre-match press conference before the game against Manchester United.
“He’s been doing a lot of attacking work, finishing work with coaches, Stephen Purches in particular,” he said.
“He’s really benefitting from that, as is Bruno. A lot of detailed work on our midfielders trying to get more goals and it is paying dividends at the moment. I think he is playing really well.”
Bruno Guimaraes also amongst the goals for Newcastle
While Howe was focussing on Longstaff, he also noted that Bruno Guimaraes has been working on his attacking output as well. The Brazil international has not been quite as prolific, only finding the net on six occasions.
But he also scored in that away win over Burnley, and produced a wonderful finish just like Longstaff. Both goals were excellent, and came about by the midfielders arriving in the box at just the right time. That is clearly something that they have been working on, and it is great to see it result in more goals from deeper positions.
That will delight Howe, who does not just want to rely on Alexander Isak for goals. He is well out in front as Newcastle’s top scorer, getting 23 in all competitions so far.
It is important that the Magpies share the goals around, and that appears to be what Stephen Purches has been tasked with.
Who is Stephen Purches?
Purches is part of Eddie Howe’s coaching staff at Newcastle United, and has been with the Magpies ever since the 46-year-old took over as manager.
The 44-year-old played as a defender and a midfielder during his career, and came through the West Ham United academy. The majority of his playing career was spent at Bournemouth, where he made nearly 300 league appearances across two spells.
His playing career was ended early due to injury in 2014, with Purches moving into coaching. After initially working in the Bournemouth youth setup, he became part of Howe’s first-team staff in 2016.
Purches remained with the Cherries when Howe left, acting as assistant manager to Jason Tindall and then Jonathan Woodgate. He would leave the Vitality Stadium in June 2021 following Scott Parker’s arrival.
Now he is part of the team at Newcastle, and helping the likes of Bruno and Longstaff score more goals from midfield.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
