STEVE COOPER:

Swansea City manager Steve Cooper:


STEVE COOPER:



Could go down in history?

There’s a first for everything. If Saturday is that time then brilliant, we’ve got to go for it. I’d much rather go into it knowing you can do the double. That’s something to get excited about, it’s not a pressure.

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STEVE COOPER:


McCarthy impact?

Results-wise it’s gone well. They’ve gone on a good unbeaten run. He’s an experienced manager and has seen and done most things in the game. He’s taken that into the squad that he has. Again, it adds to what is a unique season. This will be our 10th game in 31 days, and we know we’re coming up against a good squad with an experienced manager. But we’ve just got to focus on ourselves and do what it takes to get ready.

Cooper

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STEVE COOPER:



Why has double never happened?

I don’t know. It’s an interesting fact. Lots of people outside of south Wales will be surprised by it. We’ve just got to focus on this one and do our best to win.

Cooper




Unbeaten in derby games

I hope we carry that on! It’s not about me being unbeaten or any individual, it’s about the city, not just the football club. That’s who we’re representing. We’re going to do it with pride and ambition.

Cooper

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STEVE COPPER:




Draw not really useful?

We want to win the game and I’m sure they’ll say the same. That’s all we’re focused on. Whenever you play the game, I just think that doesn’t really come into it. You’ve got to concentrate on what the game needs, but the driver has got to be the importance of the game. Thinking about a draw, it’s not something I’ve thought about.

Cooper





Huge game ahead - double not been done?

It’s as big as it gets in south Wales. Let’s not play it down. Let’s not shirk the question. Regardless of when or where you play the game, league positions go out of the window. It’s a massive rivalry. It’s not been any different before, and this one is the same and it has to be used as motivation to go and win.

Cooper

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STEVE COPPER:




Learnt from last Cardiff game?

I think about staying in control, and not just emotions. I just think it’s about knowing its a big deal but staying in control of what it takes to win and play well. It is a test of that but in the end if you want to be successful you have to do that well.

Cooper

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STEVE COOPER:


McCarthy’s philosophy well known

You come up against these different managers and styles and I think that’s why it’s so important you focus on yourselves.

Cooper




Winning run important now?

It’s not as easy as that, especially in this league and this schedule. We’ve still got a game in hand to play in April. It’s just the season that it is. We don’t look too far ahead but we’re aiming to win all of the games.

Cooper

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STEVE COOPER:



Bournemouth game tough prep?

It’s not ideal to lose any game. Bournemouth played well on the night and we didn't do certain parts of the game well enough in terms of earning the results. It’s the most they’ve run for a long while [Bournemouth’s running stats].

We’ve drawn a line under it, we’ve learnt from it and we’ll take it into the next game.

Cooper

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STEVE COOPER:


"We’ve not picked up anything from Bournemouth the other night We got through that unscathed," said Cooper.

"Marc Guehi is back in light training. We’ll give him every chance for Saturday. Whether it comes too soon, we're not too sure.

"Paul Arriola won’t be ready. Then it’s just the longer term boys.

"Steven Benda is back in training so it's nice to have him back. He won’t feature in the squad at the weekend but he's a young goalkeeper we like. It’s good to have him back training with us."

Swansea are bidding to become the first ever team to complete a league double in the fixture having won 2-0 in the Welsh capital in December.

However, Cooper knows Cardiff - who have lost just once in 13 matches under new boss Mick McCarthy - will be a different prospect to the side they faced in the final month of 2020.

"Results-wise it’s gone well. They’ve gone on a good unbeaten run," he explained.

"He’s an experienced manager and has seen and done most things in the game. He’s taken that into the squad that he has.

"Again, it adds to what is a unique season. This will be our 10th game in 31 days, and we know we’re coming up against a good squad with an experienced manager.

"But we’ve just got to focus on ourselves and do what it takes to be ready for it and go and commit to the game plan."

Swansea go into Saturday's derby contest just three points adrift of second placed Watford while they boast a game in hand over the Hornets.

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STEVE COOPER:


Cabango deal

Brilliant news. I’m so happy that he’s committed. A player who we love, he’s come through the academy and he’s having a fantastic season for us this year and the exciting bit is he’s got a lot of potential to fill. He’s a player who deserves a lot of credit because you can give players opportunities and give them support off the pitch, but in the end the player has got to want to do it. Ben loves playing for Swansea and there’s exciting times ahead. I can speak this open about him because I know he’s going to work harder to prove the contract is the right thing. We’re excited about Ben and we’re very proud of him.

Cooper






Internationals - managers need to be careful?

I’ve been on the other side and I know how important it is and what it takes to be productive. But something that’s always been in mind is taking care of players, whether it’s managing training loads of game minutes or their rest. In the end they’re the club’s players. This one even more so, the players need really looking after and I'm sure the international managers will be scrutinising how many games players have played. They have to put the players’ welfare at the forefront of their minds, while also trying to be competitive.

Cooper

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If ever this season there was a Must Not Lose Game .....This is It

If ever this season there was a Must Not Lose Game .....This is It

100% Tony. We CANNOT lose this game at any cost

If ever this season there was a Must Not Lose Game .....This is It

100% Tony. We CANNOT lose this game at any cost

I 2nd that, this is not just another game.

The huge Andre Ayew boost Swansea City have just been handed in promotion race

Ghana are set to play three times during the international break, and they have announced their squad in full

By Ian Mitchelmore


Friday 19th March 2021





Steve Cooper says Andre Ayew will not miss any Swansea City games following concerns he would have to quarantine if he featured for Ghana during the international break.

The 31-year-old had been expected to earn a call-up to the Black Stars' squad for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against South Africa - a country currently on the UK's quarantine list - and São Tomé and Príncipe on March 25 and March 28 respectively while they also play a friendly fixture against Uzbekistan in between those outings.

Rules state players would have to quarantine for a period of 10 days should they travel to a country where new strains of coronavirus have been discovered of late in a bid to limit the spread of Covid-19 on these shores.

But Cooper has stated Ayew will not be unavailable for any of Swansea's games after the international break.

"He won't be missing any Swansea games, that's for sure," he said.

"We've had that discussion. The plans are still getting firmed up.

"Everybody's in agreeance in what may or may not happen, especially Andre.

"That will come to light in the next day or two, but everything's in control, everything's calm."

Under FIFA rules, clubs are allowed to prevent their players from heading away on international duty in the event that they would be returning from countries where there is a quarantine period of at least five days on their return.

Ghana announced their squad for the two competitive matches on Thursday night. Ayew was not included, although it could be that he joins up with his country for the second qualifying match given that it will not be played in what is deemed to be a red zone.

The attacker - who captains his country - has scored 14 goals in 35 league outings for the Swans this season.

Swansea take on Birmingham City on Friday, April 2 in what will be their first Championship fixture after the upcoming break.

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Cooper is doing a fantastic job for the peg sellers. His signings have been very well considered.

I don't care much about people going to rival clubs as players or managers - everyone wants to play and manager and its just a 'fun' part of the game and rivalry, but when Steve denied he had ever supported Cardiff - that was cowardly. He should have just admitted he used to watch us with his dad.

it's not Cooper in my opinion, it's nothing to do with him as a manager or his managerial style.
They have made decent signings in managers and players over the last 10 or so years.

Their success in this area is down to the backroom staff they have. The manager is almost inconsequential. Toshack, Pascoe, Curtis and a load of others are the reason they have seen success not because of Cooper.

You could put a tub of lard in the dug out and they would still tippy tappy round the back for 85 minutes thinking they were Barcelona

it's not Cooper in my opinion, it's nothing to do with him as a manager or his managerial style.
They have made decent signings in managers and players over the last 10 or so years.

Their success in this area is down to the backroom staff they have. The manager is almost inconsequential. Toshack, Pascoe, Curtis and a load of others are the reason they have seen success not because of Cooper.

You could put a tub of lard in the dug out and they would still tippy tappy round the back for 85 minutes thinking they were Barcelona

bit unfair on Cooper who signed 7 of the 11 starters in their last game... 1 of the other 4 came through their academy ,and the remaining 3 were signed from other clubs for a total of £25 million ..

Swansea injury news

Swansea will give Marc Guehi the chance to prove his fitness ahead of the game.

The Chelsea loanee has not features for the Swans since suffering a groin injury in his side's 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers earlier this month, although he has returned to training this week.

Joel Latibeaudiere is available after suffering a minor issue in the first half of Swansea's 3-0 loss to Bournemouth, although Paul Arriola will miss out.

Jordan Morris (ACL), Tivonge Rushesha (ACL) and Liam Cullen (ankle) while Steven Benda will also miss out, although he has returned to training following a period on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

I'm no oil painting but he unnecessarily ugly.

I'm sitting here watching the game with my Mrs and she just asked if Cooper was stoned lol

Up yours Plug you ugly tw*t.

Piss off back to the Bash Street Kids.

As my other half says hes got a face you'd like to smack with a wet kipper!

As my other half says hes got a face you'd like to smack with a wet kipper!

Looks like someone's been doing that already for quite some time.