Sean Longstaff knew he needed help when team-mate Matt Ritchie pulled him to one side after training. Steve Bruce was Newcastle manager and the Geordie midfielder could feel his career slipping away.

'If it wasn't for Matty… he was the one who said, "Longy, you need help",' says the 25-year-old. 'I was miserable. In training, I was a bit of a t*t. I wasn't nice to be around. Some people just let you drift away, but he was the one who pulled me back.

'I'd been for breakfast and I broke down in tears in front of my old man. Matty texted me and said, "You need to speak to this guy". A psychologist. I still speak to him now.

'Two and a half years later, if it wasn't for him getting me on the right track, I probably wouldn't be playing for Newcastle. I remind him every couple of months, and he gets pretty embarrassed.'

Ritchie's advice was just the start. It still needed a change of manager. Like others, Longstaff's progress had stalled under Bruce and he found himself in a mental and physical rut. In the autumn of 2021, Newcastle were taken over by Saudi owners and Eddie Howe replaced Bruce.

'If you'd asked me a year and a half ago (would you leave the club?) my answer would be different until the new manager came in, and that's just me being honest,' he says, talking to us from the indoor training pitch at the club's training ground.

'From the first day, it was something different. He improves you as a player, a person and he really does care about you. He saved my Newcastle career. I trust him and I hope he trusts me more with my performances. We had conversations when we were sorting my contract and he was saying stuff I don't think even I believed. He believed in me, and lots of what he said has come true.'

But perhaps neither quite believed it would be Longstaff who would score both goals in a 2-1 win over Southampton to send Newcastle to Wembley, where they face Manchester United in Sunday's Carabao Cup final.

'That night was the culmination of all the ups and downs,' he says. 'My family were so proud, and they have dealt with me when it wasn't going so well. They stuck with me.

'Dan Burn grabbed me after both goals and said how proud of me he was. He probably didn't realise this, but it meant the world to me. He is someone I really look up to. After the game, I said to him, "Did you think we'd be doing this when we were playing each other for Wigan and Blackpool in League One five years ago?". I thought we were going to shed a little tear together.

'It is funny how football works out. To be from Newcastle and do it together, it makes it so special. That night was a memory for a lifetime.'

In the stands were his brother, Matty - currently out with a knee injury - and his dad, David, a former Great Britain ice hockey star.

'My dad was doing dry January, but that went out the window after the semi-final! I went up to the box and he got a bit emotional. I hadn't seen him get emotional like that since my brother scored against Man United.

'He was a bit hammered and was telling us how proud he was. I was half laughing, half a bit emotional. He's amazing. I love talking to him, not just about football, but about life. I was lucky to have an old man who played professional sport, being in his dressing room at a really young age and getting an insight into how it worked. It teaches you respect.

'It's so good that he's here to see me out the other side and enjoy watching me play for Newcastle. That's the same for all of my family.'

Until Sean's double in the semi-final, it was his brother's strike on his debut to beat Manchester United in 2019 that was the most famous Longstaff night at St James'.

'It still is if you ask Matty!' laughs the older sibling when that is put to him. 'Now I've got to try and score against Man United this weekend.'

Has Matty, who also scored at Old Trafford, shared his secret?

'He won't give it away! I really need to ask him again!'

If Newcastle do win on Sunday, it will bring closure to 54 years without silverware.

'I don't think people thought it would be this team that would win a trophy for Newcastle, so that's driving us on even more,' says Longstaff. 'This club is going to get there, winning leagues and cups, but to be the team that wins the first trophy, that would be really special.'

As for yourself?

'I am living the dream,' he says.

For a young man who was stuck in a nightmare not so long ago, that is quite a statement.