Russell Martin revealed he held talks with his Swansea City squad over their discipline ahead of the 2-0 derby triumph against 10-man Cardiff City.
The Bluebirds had Callum Robinson sent off in the seventh minute at the Swansea.com Stadium after the striker threw a ball into the face of Ben Cabango. It drastically altered the course of the contest which was won by the home side thanks to goals from Ollie Cooper and Michael Obafemi.
And head coach Martin says he told his young players to avoid any confrontation in what was at times a spiky derby contest.
READ MORE: Swansea City 2-0 Cardiff City: Cooper and Obafemi strikes earn hosts victory over 10-man Bluebirds
“It’s a really enjoyable day," he said. "We were helped obviously with the early red card. It was something we spoke to our players about, having so many young ones in the team, to not get involved in any of that.
“Thankfully for us one of their players did – it’s a really easy mistake to make when the atmosphere is like this, in such a big game.
“Then it was about sticking to our game-plan more than ever. We created a lot – we should score more goals in the first bit. It took a bit of time to score the first one and then it was about sticking to the plan again.
“We got a bit excited and in a rush to get the second which didn’t help us. It gave Cardiff a chance to try to turn themselves into heroes.
“Thankfully we managed to get the game back under control and I really liked the last half hour. I am really proud. I loved the atmosphere and the connection between the crowd and the players.”
Victory lifted Swansea up to fourth in the Championship table, their highest position under the current coaching staff. It was their third success over the Bluebirds under Martin, with Swansea outscoring their rivals 9-0 during those outings.
Ollie Cooper - whose dad Kevin Cooper previously played for Cardiff - netted his third goal in four matches to send the Swans on their way to victory on home soil, and Martin admitted the young Welshman is a dream for the club's coaching staff.
"I told him he was allowed to smile when he came off the pitch," said Martin. "To have the club you've grown up with and have been desperate to play for through so many age groups, to have the fans singing your name like that after scoring in a derby, there can't be many better moments.
"He needs to enjoy that feeling and hope that, at some point, he has it again. I'm just really proud of Ollie. He's such a good lad. There's nothing bad to say about Ollie. He just keeps improving, he's a coach's dream for us."
Swansea return to action against Bristol City on Saturday. Kick-off at Ashton Gate is at 12pm.
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