A few encouraging words from Newcastle United team-mate Ryan Fraser was all it needed for Matty Longstaff to swap the north-east of England for the north-east of Scotland and spend the next nine months at Aberdeen.

Scotland winger Fraser came through the youth ranks with the Reds before moving to Bournemouth eight years ago after only 21 first-team appearances and last September joined Newcastle in a £20m deal with Cherries colleague Callum Wilson.

Midfielder Longstaff has just a year left on is deal at St James’ Park, but hopes regular first-team football at Pittodrie will persuade Magpies manager Steve Bruce he can fit into his plans in the Premier League.

He was an energetic performer in the home 1-1 draw with Ross County on Sunday when he had it underlined what Dons manager Stephen Glass and captain Scott Brown had told him, that the game would be played “at a million miles an hour”.

The former England under-20 cap had already been aware of the rigours of Scottish football when he used to watch older brother Sean in action during a loan spell at Kilmarnock four years ago. He’s now an established part of the Newcastle first team, which is what Matty wants.

He took in Aberdeen’s drubbing in their Europa Conference League tie  against Qarabag last Thursday and was captivated by the Pittodrie atmosphere.

“I got to see the stadium rocking, the fans were unreal and I’m really happy to be here," he said. "It was unbelievable.

“The manager used to play for Newcastle, and I’ve heard great stuff about the Aberdeen and the football they play. He’s experienced Newcastle, knows what it’s like, and I’m really looking forward to working with him and his team.

“I spoke to Ryan Fraser, who obviously came through the set-up here, and he just said it was a great club and that if I got the chance I should go and play there. I didn’t need much persuading other than that.

“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.

“Whether that’s playing a little further back and getting on the ball, or whether it’s breaking into boxes and scoring goals, I’m happy to do either.”

His debut in a bruising draw with Ross County as Christian Ramirez scored an 88th minute equaliser following Regan Chrles-Cook’s first half opener,  was to his satisfaction, he said, especially as the Staggies had battled so bravely to preserve their lead.

He said: “It definitely wasn’t a surprise that the game was so fast. I used to drive up all the time and watch Sean.

“I knew what it was going to be like coming into the game.

“We’re obviously disappointed with the result but it’s one of them things we’ve got to move on from.

“We’ll get back on the training pitch and improve stuff and come the next game we’ll be ready.

“When I was speaking to the lads, they said how they’ve been playing two games a week because of the Europa Conference League ties and there’s not been much training.

“Coming into the game, I’d spoken to the gaffer and Scott Brown about what it would be like and they said it would be a million miles an hour.”

Meanwhile, Charles-Cook, pleased at scoring his first league goal for County in a year at the club, spoke of his team’s exasperation at missing out on a win.

He said: “We are coming away with disappointment and frustration as it is two points dropped for us as we created chances and we defended as a unit.

“You could see we were frustrated as a group on the pitch and even in the changing room.

“We’ve got to take the positives and build on getting a point on the road coming to Aberdeen.”