Steve Cooper’s Notes

Head Coach’s Notes STEVE COOPER

Good evening to all Swansea City fans as we look ahead to tonight’s Championship clash with Stoke City.

After two consecutive games on the road, it’s great to be back at the Liberty.

We came through two very different challenges last week in which we picked up two points against Coventry City and Bristol City – the same scorelines, but very different feelings after the game.

Our intention is always to win games, but we were happy to come away from St Andrew’s with a share of the spoils as I don’t think we played to the level we are capable of.

Then we travelled to Ashton Gate and again picked up a point in a 1-1 draw, but we came away feeling we really should have won the game. The boys had worked very hard throughout the game, and it was an excellent finish by Jamal Lowe for our goal. We were delighted for Jamal as he’s a great lad and works so hard for the team.

But the penalty decision against Connor Roberts was something we couldn’t understand. It was a bad decision, and that’s putting it extremely lightly, so we felt harshly done by to get back to Swansea with just a point.

You have to battle very hard for everything you get in this league, and our effort and application certainly deserved three points, and that’s the frustrating thing.

It was disappointing, but we had no time to dwell with another game in front of us. That means there hasn’t been a great amount of time in terms of preparation and recovery, but the lads have been excellent in the last few days.

We host a Stoke side that has started the season well, and they go into the game on the back of a good home win over Brentford, so we’re expecting a tough encounter.

But, as ever, the focus is always on what we do and how we can influence the result.

We’re unbeaten on our travels so far, which is a nice record to have, but we really want to improve on our home form.

We’ll do everything we can to give you the result you deserve.

Captain’s Notes MATT GRIMES

Hello and welcome to everyone joining us from around the world for this evening’s Championship home fixture against Stoke City.

It has been a busy period with three games in eight days, especially with two of those matches being away fixtures.

Every game is tough and we were really disappointed to lose against Huddersfield in a game I thought we played very well in.

I think the match at Coventry was also a tough game, they have obviously just got promoted from League One so they are at it and they played some decent stuff. It was probably one of the toughest games we have faced so far this season. I know you could look at it and think that we should beat a newly-promoted side but I think a point there was decent in the circumstances, we were not at our best at all.

We then headed to Ashton Gate on Saturday to face Bristol City, a fixture which usually stands out in the calendar due to the atmosphere. We got ourselves into a very good position, at 1-0 up. I thought we limited them to very few chances but when a penalty decision like that goes against you at the end, it knocks the wind out of your sails and loses you two points.

Throughout the game we limited them to next to nothing, I think Freddie only made one save from a free-kick. They were throwing bodies on to try and get the winner and it changed the dynamic of the game and put us under the cosh.

Don’t get me wrong, a point away from home is a good point, especially against a team that has been flying. But in the manner we got that point we are certainly disappointed, we should have come away with all three.

We had to show something at Bristol and I think we did that in the first-half and had some good chances in the second-half but were then on the wrong end of the penalty decision.

I was chuffed to bits for Jamal to get his second goal of the season. He’s come in and settled in really quickly, I think everyone can see what he’s about and his finish against Bristol City is one that we see most days in training.

Saturday also marked Jay’s first start of the season. He’s one of them that you know exactly what you’re getting, he’s a fantastic lad and brilliant in training. He knows that if he’s called upon, he can come in and do a job which he did in the second half against Coventry and against Bristol City at the weekend. He’s a fantastic lad and a fantastic player to have around.

This season is unique, I think there will be a lot of games where things will be up in the air and you’ll see a lot of shock results. I think we just need to try and stay as consistent as possible throughout the season, whatever team does that will have the best chance of promotion.

We now have two home games ahead of us and it’s a brilliant opportunity to build on our home form, we are really looking forward to them.

Enjoy the game this evening!

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Supporters Trust board member Ceri Stone reflects on a busy period for Swansea City – on and off the pitch.

Welcome. Welcome. Welcome. And Welcome Back.

This last transfer window seemed to last forever! It has certainly been one of the most interesting in recent history. We’ve seen another academy graduate move to a top-six club in the Premier League and we have been able to bring in some talented young players to bolster the squad. We have also seen changes to the structure of the club at boardroom level.

Just your average Swansea City start to a season. Now that the dust has settled this seems to be a good time to welcome all the new faces.

Firstly, we extend a very warm welcome to all of our new signings. You are now officially Swansea Jacks (I don’t think I am allowed to use the term we use in the East Stand)! At first glance it looks like we have done some excellent business in the transfer market and we have a side that the Jack Army can get a little excited about.

We have youth, pace, skill and a bit of bite in the team. As a purist I am delighted that we are maintaining the ‘Swansea Way’, and the first six games (at the time of writing), have given us plenty of cause for optimism. The only sad note is the injury to Morgan Gibbs-White. We wish Morgan a speedy recovery and can’t wait to see him in a white shirt again.

Secondly, we would like to welcome our new chief executive, Julian Winter. Julian took time out of his busy schedule to meet the Supporters Trust at our last board meeting and we had some very productive conversations. It is early days in his tenure, but we were impressed with his knowledge of the club and how thorough he has been so far. As a Trust, it is important for us to be in regular contact with the club so that we can ensure that the fans’ voices are heard. We appreciate how busy Julian’s first month has been - starting at the end of a transfer window cannot be easy - and we look forward to working with him and maintaining a positive relationship. As a Trust, and as fans, we just want to be kept involved in the running of our club.

Thirdly, welcome to all the new members of the Supporters Trust. By the weekend of the Huddersfield match we had surpassed 1,450 members, which is an increase of roughly 30 per cent compared to last season, and this number is growing by the week. On social media, we have over 8,000 followers on Twitter and over 12,000 followers on Facebook, but only a small proportion are members of the Trust.

There hasn’t been a better time to join, with a 50 per cent discount for new members running up to the end of December. By doing so you can actively contribute to the club as well as having your say on social media. All Jacks are welcome and you can enlist at www.swanstrust.co.uk

Finally, we want to wish Joe Rodon all the success in the world at Tottenham. He is one of us and will always be welcome back home at the Liberty.

As is a returning favourite this evening in the form of Joe Allen. I have a big soft spot for Joe because my father was his headmaster at Narberth Primary School and we’ve followed his career closely through the years. We wish him well in the final stages of his recovery from an Achilles injury.