MARTIN WANTS PIROE TO STAY

RUSSELL Martin has emphasised his desire for Joel Piroe to stay with Swansea City beyond this season following his latest goal-scoring exploits. The Dutchman struck twice in the first-half against Derby County as the Swans earned their third successive victory in the Championship.

Piroe’s brace saw him reach the 20-goal mark for the campaign, making him only the seventh different Swansea player to do so since the club’s stadium move in 2005.

Several young guns such as Piroe, Flynn Downes and Ben Cabango are expected to attract transfer interest in the summer following their efforts in Martin’s debut campaign in south Wales. And the Swansea boss believes Piroe still has plenty more to offer following what has been a remarkable first season with the club to date since joining from PSV Eindhoven last summer.

“I think that’s one of the reasons we were brought in, to play in a way that would improve the players, add value to the players and create assets for the club,” said Martin when asked if he expects clubs to come calling for the former Netherlands Under-20 international.

“We said that from day one, that was part of the role.

“But the best chance we have of getting to where we want to get to in a period of time is to try and keep a group of young men together that continually improve and grow.

“We’ll have to wait and see. If it’s something we have to cross in the summer, we’ll try and deal with it. Of course, we want him to be here for as long as we possibly can.

“He’s a beautiful footballer and a brilliant finisher. He just needs to continue with the same attitude. There’s a lot more to come. He’s only a young man in his first season here so it excites us a lot that we still think there’s a lot left for him to get out of himself.”

The Swans raced into a two-goal lead against the Rams as Piroe fired beyond Ryan Allsop in the eighth and 16th minutes. Tom Lawrence pulled a goal back from the penalty spot for Wayne Rooney’s side shortly after the hosts had doubled their lead.

But Martin’s men claimed all three points to ensure they claimed three successive victories for the first time this season having beaten Cardiff City and Millwall in their two most recent outings.