Swans hoping to claim reward from long opening trip north
SWANSEA City return to action at long last today with a trip to Middlesbrough. And there are plenty of questions to be answered ahead of the return of the game in the North-East of England.
Swansea City correspondent Ian Mitchelmore tells you everything you need to know as the Swans resume the 2019/20 Championship season today.
It’s very positive, judging by what Steve Cooper and players themselves have been saying.
There was a real buzz at Fairwood when training resumed in late May, and that has only increased as players have spent more time together.
Cooper admits he’s had to push his players harder than he’d have liked in a bid to ensure they are at peak fitness for the remaining nine games of the campaign. He even admitted his players have sometimes had to train while tired.
But the coaching staff feel this is the right call for the Swans.
As for the players, Mike van der Hoorn is the only absentee for Swansea, but even he is edging close to returning to action.
He stepped up his return from knee surgery this week, although the Dutchman is unlikely to feature for Swansea until early July.
George Byers is also fully-fit after recovering from an ankle injury which comes as a huge boost to the Swans.
Cooper will name 20-man squads for each of Swansea’s remaining nine games following rules changes implemented by the EFL. It means he will have nine substitutes to select from in each fixture, five of which he can use.
He will also be able to include all six of his loan players in a match-day squad, although only five can be on the pitch at any given time.
Following the behind-the-scenes derby clashes with Cardiff City, we understand that coaches were impressed with young duo Tivonge Rushesha and Oli Cooper.
And Steve Cooper has now publicly stated that fans could well see more youngsters in his squads in the coming weeks.
“Possibly”, he said. “The lads who went out on loan cannot play for us which is a bad side of it, lads like Jack Evans and Steven Benda.
“We still have good young players who have trained well, we want to develop our players and there will not be any hesitation to put them in if we feel we need them.”
No. Cooper confirmed - as per his comments in the previous question in his presser that he won’t be able to use the likes of Jack Evans, Steven Benda and Kristoffer Peterson this term.
They will have to wait until the 2020/21 campaign.
Q: What were Swansea’s travel plans for Middlesbrough?
IM: They’re not too different to normal, although social distancing measures mean things have changed slightly.
Players and staff travelled on two separate buses from Swansea to Cardiff Airport before flying to the North East of England yesterday.
They stayed in a hotel overnight before taking on Jonathan Woodgate’s side at the Riverside Stadium today.
Each member of the travelling party was required to have a hotel room to themselves as part of strict social distancing measures put in place.
“The club had committed to a flight right at the start of the season,” said Cooper. “I imagine the club doesn’t fly as much as it used to, but we did handpick a few fixtures that were right for performance within our constraints.”
Ahead of the game, the club released an image of players and coaches ‘taking the knee’ on one of the pitches at Fairwood.
And Cooper says nothing concrete has been decided regarding a gesture or tribute at the Riverside Stadium, although that will be discussed in collaboration with Boro and match officials on game day.
Boro were in wretched form before lockdown, despite winning their most recent fixture against Charlton more than three months ago.
The break could do them wonders in their bid to stave off relegation, but I still fancy Swansea to do the business.
They ran out comfortable winners in the reverse fixture, and I believe Boro’s style suits Swansea.
The game will be screened exclusively live on SwansTV.
Season-ticket holders who opted for access to all remaining matches as part of their refund package will not need to pay extra to watch the games.
Non-season ticket holders can watch the match for a one-off payment of £10. For more information, visit Swansea’s club website.