SEAN LONGSTAFF admits he’s excited at the prospect of working with two new signings at Newcastle United.

The home-grown midfielder has forced his way into Rafa Benitez’s side of late, amid talk of an England Under-21 call up for the 21-year-old academy graduate.

He started Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley and is now looking forward to getting to see his new team-mates at close quarters.

Miguel Almiron and Antonio Barreca moved to St James’ Park last week, a welcome breakthrough for Rafa Benitez in the market and a boost to the rest of the squad.

"Any new players that come in, you're excited to see what they're about, especially the pedigree they've both got,’’ said Longstaff. “I think everyone's excited to see what they can do. It's going to be tough, but they've got all the lads' support. I think it gives everyone a boost having new people around. As long as we keep working hard, we should be all right."

Newcastle were beaten by a late Heung-Min Son strike at the National Stadium, his shot deceiving Martin Dubravka as it flew past the keeper.

Defeat, coupled with Cardiff’s home win over Bournemouth leaves the Magpies only two points in front of the bottom three. With their next game not until after the weekend’s programme – they go to Wolves a week tonight – the Magpies could be back in the bottom three by the time they take to the field at Molineux.

"Everyone's really disappointed,’’ admitted Longstaff. “The first half was tough, but we stayed in the game and still created chances. I thought we were going to take something from the game. They made a substitution and changed their style a little bit, but I think we coped with it well and one little lapse has cost us.

"We're disappointed, but there are a lot of positives to build on. We played pretty well for a lot of the game and created some good chances. There are positives to take, but everyone's bitterly disappointed.’’

The Magpies were celebrating a fine win over Manchester City last Tuesday evening, and their outlook against Spurs was the same as they sat in deep to try and keep the opposition at bay.

Longstaff added: "It (the gameplan) was pretty similar to Man City. The other team was going to have a lot of the ball. They've got a lot of quality. That was the way we set up. We did really well up to the goal, and even so sometimes shots from distance go in. We did really well, we kept a good shape and were in the game the whole time. At the end we were a little bit of luck away from getting something from the game.

"There were lots of positives to take. Obviously, everyone's bitterly disappointed. It's been a tough month. We've played a lot of the top teams, but if someone had said at the start of the month we'd be where we are, we'd have probably taken that.

"With the new signings, the place is a little bit more upbeat. Everyone's looking up and we're going into some big, winnable games. As long as we listen to the staff and carry out their gameplan, we should be fine.’’

Benitez is also hopeful to have some of his injured players back next week.

"I think Diame, Ki and Dummett are quite close, more so than Jonjo,’’ he admitted. “We will see but the others are quite close so hopefully they will be available."