Newcastle United man Matty Longstaff gives his verdict on Mansfield Town loan spell so far

Longstaff banged in his first goal for Stags during the weekend win at Bradford City.

The midfielder, who made his Newcastle United debut in 2019 against Leicester City in the EFL Cup, joined for promotion-chasing Mansfield in the transfer window.

“I’m loving it here,” he said. “The manager and the staff have been unbelievable.

“The lads are top players and are great to work with, I’m loving it.

“Obviously it’s a bit different in League Two, there’s a lot of second balls and headers that need winning, but that is something I enjoy doing.

“I’ve travelled all over watching my brother in League One, so I know what lower league football is like and I was pretty well prepared for it.”

Longstaff was also delighted to seal all three points as Stags ruined Mark Hughes’ first game in charge of the bantams.

“It was a great day, but the most important thing is the three points,” he said.

“Our goal is promotion and we have to win games. It was a big thing to come here and win in front of a big crowd.

“We knew it was going to be tough, but our fans were terrific and they were the 12th man for us.

“The crowd gave us that push when we were tiring in the last 20 minutes, they gave us energy and kept us going.

“It was a great moment to score, but the three points are the most important.

“We should have won last week, so to show this reaction can only give us momentum.”