These are your latest Swansea City headlines on Tuesday, March 15.
Joseph putting hand up and explains loan motives
Kyle Joseph says he has returned from his loan stint with Cheltenham in a better place.
Joseph was signed by Swansea last summer but was sent out on loan to the Robins after just two appearances under Russell Martin. He got game-time under his belt with the League Two club, and the striker was brought back to the Swansea.com Stadium in January to bolster Martin’s attacking options.
He’s appeared six times from the bench and was in action for the under-23s on Monday, notching up four goals against QPR in a 5-1 win. His time away from south Wales has prepared him well to stick his hand up for selection in Martin’s first-team plans, he believes.
“I’ve been really good,” he said. “It was a beneficial loan spell for me. Done me the world of good, really. Getting out, getting games, and scoring a few goals. Since being back, the level of training I’ve been doing, the standard, it’s all good for me.
"I’m still 20 years old, it’s just hopefully learning off the lads that are here, the senior players. Seeing how they act around the place day to day. It’s just about taking in as much as I can for the rest of the season.”
The former Wigan man went on to explain why he sought a loan move in the first place, adding: “It could have been easy. I could have just stayed here and been around the first team, but I wanted to go out and show the manager I could handle playing first team. I think that I did that to an extent, and I’ve come back in and I hopefully want to carry on and continue showing him that I can be a player in the first-team squad.”
With Swansea into the final stretch of the season and with nothing of real note to play for, Joseph says he just wants to feature as often as possible.
On his hopes for the rest of the campaign, he said: “Just to be involved as much as I can. Whether that’s coming off the bench or starting games. Just to keep cracking on and working hard. Learning as much as I can off the players and staff I have around me. And to try and kick on, really, hopefully do well, get a few minutes under my belt and kick on for next season.”
Whittaker makes positional switch
Morgan Whittaker says he is grateful for the chance to be playing regularly at Lincoln City. Striker Whittaker’s loan stint with the Imps has taken a turn in recent weeks, with the former Derby County man being switched to left wing-back in Michael Appleton’s new-look back five formation.
He says there has been emotional challenges to overcome with the League One outfit but that he’s taken a lot from his experiences. Morgan said: “It’s been challenging but that’s the reason I came here, to test myself and do things I’ve not done before with the run of games - it’s been good and I’m learning.
“I’m dealing with a lot of different emotions that come with that, I haven’t had to deal with the pressures of a league position and collecting vital points, so that is be a help and I’m grateful for this opportunity.”
He added: “Everyone looks forward to these big teams and we have shown what we can do against them; if we can match their aggression and what they’re known for, then I think we will be fine.
“Teams in this division could easily compete in the Championship and they’re the games you want, to test yourself in and they make you better.”
O’Leary: Attitude of first teamers was spot on
Under-23s boss Kristian O’Leary has praised the attitude of Swansea’s first teamers who have dropped down into the age-grade side at points this season. Joseph, Yan Dhanda and Nathanael Ogbeta all featured for the youngsters in their 5-1 demolition of the Hoops in SA1 on Monday afternoon.
O’Leary was delighted with the performance and he highlighted the opportunity Swansea are giving to those coming off the production line. “It’s a good performance and I think it’s what we’ve done for the majority of the season, but this time we’ve managed to get the goals,” said O’Leary.
“Kyle Joseph made a massive difference for us out there today, the attitude of the first-team boys who dropped down was spot on and I think that’s something that the manager demands. We played a game earlier in the season and Russell Martin sent down 12 players and only one of them was over the age of 23, so that shows just how young the squad is at the first-team level and it shows that the boys here have the opportunity to step up.
“I thought some of our goals today were excellent, as was a lot of our play. In the second half you can get sloppy and switch off, but every time we did that the older boys got hold of the ball, made shorter passes and cut through them really well.
“It’s always a team performance and that’s the way that the club have built it, even when the first team win it’s a team performance. For us to score a goal, nine times out of 10 it goes through each of the units and the majority of the team touch the ball, so they’re all a vital part of the way we play.”
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