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Tom Coleman

Eyebrow-raising move works wonders, Swansea City star's career has lift off and 'outstanding' teen shows club's direction

Swansea City made it back-to-back Championship wins on Saturday after easing to a 3-1 win over Coventry City at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Jamie Paterson's early strike and a brace from Michael Obafemi were ultimately enough to seal the three points for the Swans, who will now gear themselves up to welcome Fulham to SA1 on Tuesday night.

Here's a quick look at some of the key talking points to emerge from Saturday's win.

Smith shines in new role

Plenty of eyebrows were raised when it emerged Korey Smith was set to line up in the left wingback role on Saturday afternoon.

It's a role Smith hasn't played before, but any concerns over his suitability were quickly evaporated on the back of what was a highly accomplished showing, the highlight being his role in Swansea's brilliant opener.

Granted, his influence waned as the second half wore on, but he was by no means the only guilty party in that department.

And besides, given this was his first outing in an unfamiliar, high-intensity role, one can maybe cut him a little more slack.

Russell Martin was certainly impressed, anyway, although he insists he wasn't all that surprised to see the 31-year-old rise to the challenge.

Explaining his thinking behind the move, he said: "He was great. I'm really pleased he played a part in that goal.

"I thought it would lead you to question me less on it up here today if we won!

READ MORE: The latest Swansea City news, views and transfer gossip

"But he's really versatile. He played there because I felt we needed his presence, his experience. We don't possess huge amounts of that.

"He's vocal, we don't possess huge amounts of that either.

"But when you have a good understanding of the game, you can play in any position. He can certainly do that. I thought he was great."

Given its success on Saturday, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Smith deployed there again over the coming weeks.

The tweak that's left Obafemi aiming high

Speaking of new roles, it really feels like Obafemi is now eyeing up Joel Piroe's title as Swansea's main man up front.

After a bumpy start to life in south Wales, the former Southampton man is now a focal point of this Swans attack at the moment.

Indeed, top scorer Piroe has been moved into a deeper role to try to accommodate him, such has been his impact on Martin's plans.

It really does feel like his Swansea career now has lift-off, and that can only be good news for Martin, who revealed that he's had to change certain aspects of the striker's game to fit him into the demands of his new regime.

"I think the temptation for Mike is to try to play against people and fight because he's so physical," he said.

"But that's not really what we're asking for from our strikers, and he's starting to really understand that.

"Hopefully he can finish the season really strongly."

The striker has been previously been pretty frank in admitting that he's found it a little difficult to settle in, but with two goals and an assist on Saturday this was perhaps his best outing yet in a Swansea shirt.

He understandably has little intention of taking his foot off the gas, having set himself a solid target for the rest of the season.

Asked about his aims for the rest of the campaign after the game, the striker replied: "Double digits for sure.

"As a team we have a target we've set ourselves. It's just sticking to those targets and no matter where we finish, whether that's play-offs or not, we'll go again."

On current form, you wouldn't bet against him getting there.

In fact, the 21-year-old is already harbouring hopes that his goals can even engineer a promotion charge next season.

"I feel like maybe this year we've slightly underachieved," he continued. "The way we play and the team we have, I feel like we should be higher than we are, but obviously things haven't turned out that way. I think next year we can have a real shot at kicking on and going for promotion."

Academy conveyor belt still rolling

He didn't get on the pitch, but Cameron Congreve's inclusion in the matchday squad was arguably another feather in the cap for Swansea's academy.

The attacking midfielder emerged as one of the brightest talents for the under-18s last season, and was even training with the first team over the summer.

He has since made several appearances for the under-23s this term, and is seemingly one of several young players Martin has been keeping an eye on over the last few weeks.

"He deserved to be in the squad with the way he's trained," Martin said when questioned on the teenager. "He's been outstanding in training. Fantastic young man in terms of character and application and the way he applies himself every day.

"Great attitude. Local boy. Supports the club. Parents support the club. I've watched him a lot in the under-23s this season and I've been really impressed by him.

"We have quite a few of the guys training regularly with us now to see if they can be part of our plans quicker than expected because we are going to have to promote young players quickly at this club. There's no doubt about it. We don't possess the finances of certain teams, especially the one we play on Tuesday.

"So the academy has to be a big part of the plan."

By the sounds of it, had Swansea closed the game out with a little more confidence on Saturday, the 18-year-old might well have been handed a first senior outing.

But it seems likely that the teenager will likely be involved in the first-team picture again soon.

The glittering reputation of Swansea's academy in recent years will likely cause some supporters to wonder if Congreve is the next cab off the rank, although Martin is clearly keen to keep expectations in check.

"If we'd managed the game better in the second half, he would have got on," Martin said. "There's no doubt about it, but we couldn't bring him on when the game still felt so tight at 3-0 when it shouldn't have done.

"I'm disappointed he didn't get on, but it's a great taste for him, and I've told him that the hard work really starts now. Nothing's achieved yet.

"But he's got brilliant parents. Really grounded people and he's a grounded lad.

"I've no doubt we can help him grow with us. I just don't want any expectation on him early on because it's hard for young players, but if he carries on doing what he's doing he'll be involved for sure."

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