Had Luis Longstaff not gone to Queen’s Park last year, he may well have never ended up on Cove Rangers’ radar.
Longstaff was on loan at the Spiders last season, helping them to promotion from League One behind Cove.
The two Championship new-boys meet at the Balmoral Stadium on Friday night, in front of the BBC Scotland cameras in what will be Cove’s first televised league game.
“They’ve changed the team quite a bit and have got a few new players,” said Longstaff.
“It was my first loan stint in first-team football and it did give me a lot of good experience. If I didn’t go there, I probably wouldn’t be up in Scotland this year.
“The more games you play at a level like this, the more you learn. It’s gaining more experience and developing as a player. First-team football is about results and picking up as many points as possible.”
Longstaff had spent much of his career in the youth teams at Liverpool, prior to joining Cove this summer.
There is a different expectation at that level, with emphasis more on development and playing styles than winning matches.
“It’s more pressure now; if you’re going to a team that’s comfortable and winning every week, it will probably feel easier,” he said. “But you’re probably not going to learn much about yourself.
“The football we are playing, we should be higher up the league but being in a team that’s fighting for something every week means more than going somewhere and being comfortable.”
Longstaff has ‘good run of games under belt’
He has relocated from one north-east to the other, originally hailing from Darlington, and finally getting a place of his own in the Granite City has made a difference.
“It’s been really enjoyable,” said Longstaff. “I’ve been living away from home since I was 15, so moving around is quite normal.
“I’ve just moved into a flat, which the club helped me with, and it makes a massive difference because being stuck in one room at the hotel can be a bit of a nightmare. It makes you feel more settled.”
At the start of the season he was in and out of the side and still needed to build up fitness, having not played since the end of the 2021-22 campaign.
But the SPFL Trust Trophy tie against Raith Rovers seem to be the turning point for Longstaff and he has been a regular in the Cove side ever since.
“It’s not ideal when you’re not playing as much as you want to but once I got the chance, I had to take it,” he said.
“I’ve managed to get a good run of games under my belt and I feel like I’m doing well. At the start of the season, my levels weren’t what they should have been.
“I’m not at the top of my game and I can probably play better. The change of formation (to 4-4-2) in the last couple of games means I can give more support, with two forwards to play off.
“If my performances are good it’s just about getting the last bit right – getting on the scoresheet, getting more assists and making an impact on the game.
“I feel like once one goal goes in, more will follow.”
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