Matty Longstaff is looking forward to playing under the pressure of the Pittodrie crowd after completing a loan move to Aberdeen from Newcastle United.
Longstaff has found himself out of favour under Steve Bruce over the last 12 months as he made just five appearances in the Premier League last season.
The 21-year-old was therefore keen on a temporary move away from St James’ Park in a quest for regular game time and reportedly turned down Championship interest in favour of a move to the Scottish Premiership side.
In an interview with RedTV following the completion of his move to Aberdeen, Longstaff claimed he was keen on moving to a team with the same level of pressure to that of his parent club.
He said: “What you want as a player is to be playing under pressure and to deal with it. At Newcastle there’s an expectancy to play at a high level. I’m expecting the exact same thing at Aberdeen.
“The big thing is making sure we finish as high as possible, play some great stuff and give the fans something to cheer about. But you’ve also got to win games when you come here.
“That was the big attractive thing coming here – they expect to win every game and it’s a great mentality to have in the building from a young age. Hopefully I can do that here. I’m always here to help the team with my legs in midfield. Hopefully I can get on the ball and help the team.”
Prior to making the move north of the border, Longstaff has already had the chance to watch his new teammates in action.
Longstaff was at Pittodrie as he saw the Dons dumped out of the Europa Conference League Qualification Play-Offs by FK Qarabag and despite the result, he was impressed with the atmosphere that the fans managed to create.
He said: “I was straight up on Thursday. It ended up being a six-and-a-half-hour drive, which wasn’t great, but at least I got here. I got to see the stadium rocking, the fans were unreal and I’m really happy to be here. It was unbelievable. Obviously it was the first time I’d seen the stadium and the fans were great. Hopefully there’s more of it this season.”
