In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who scored 46 goals for Newcastle United, believes that fans are expecting too much from Sean Longstaff after the midfielder set his own bar too high during the 2018/19 season.

Longstaff was rarely part of the matchday from January onwards until the Magpies suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat against relegation rivals Brighton just before the international break.

Longstaff has started the previous four games, in which Newcastle have taken eight points, and as a result, they are now nine points ahead of Fulham, who had a chance to put the Magpies into the bottom three just two weeks ago.

Speaking on how Longstaff set his own bar too high at Newcastle and why he could have been experiencing a natural low in his career, Lee told FFC:

"He was outstanding when he first came into the team. Personally, I think he set his own bar so high when he got into the first team and everyone looked at him and thought 'wow', because he came in and was Man of the Match most games.

"I think most youngsters have that bit of a low period after their debut and I think he was in that, but he's come back in and he's been excellent."

The £1,000-per-week midfielder was given his chance under Rafa Benitez and was thought to be a bright prospect coming out of Newcastle's academy, something which has been severely lacking.

Steve Bruce will be hoping the partnership of Longstaff and Jonjo Shelvey can continue to perform during the run-in period which could prove to be tricky for Newcastle.