Your Swansea City headlines on Thursday, April 13.
Pratley's touching Sousa tale
Darren Pratley revealed Paulo Sousa was the first person he spoke to after undergoing an operation in hospital during his Swansea City career.
The midfielder - who currently plays for League Two leaders Leyton Orient - was a pivotal figure in Swansea's rise up the football pyramid and spent five glorious years with the club before joining Bolton Wanderers in 2011.
READ MORE: What Russell Martin's 'huge' summer rebuild may look like as Swansea City squad shake-up expected
However, he sustained a serious shoulder injury during a 4-1 win over Preston North End under Roberto Martinez in January 2009 and later suffered problems after being rushed back to action following the initial issue.
And after later undergoing an operation, Pratley revealed his gratitude to Portuguese Sousa - who replaced Martinez as manager ahead of the 2009/10 season - for being the first person he spoke to in hospital.
"That sticks with me," he told the club website. "Now, hopefully I can play for a bit longer, but when I transition into a coach, I would like to treat my players as people.
"He didn't have to come. He came to see me in hospital and told me stories about his career and his life. That was amazing, especially when you wake up from an operation, I'd never played for him before.
"He was a manger that I really respected, and when I came back I wanted to do well and play well."
The full edition of Cult Heroes with Pratley is available here.
Darling's 'best feeling' and second season hope
Harry Darling believes Swansea City have put their frustrations firmly behind them as they bid to continue their impressive end to the season.
The Swans were play-off contenders prior to the World Cup but plummeted down the Championship table after a woeful run of results.
However, Russell Martin's men have collected 10 of the last 12 points on offer to move within striking distance of the top half of the table with just five matches left to play this term.
"That's probably been the big frustration with us, we know what levels we can hit, recently we have hit them, we just haven't done it enough this season," he said.
"We can't do anything about it now, we can only improve for the next game. I feel like we're performing well, we just need to keep that going.
"There'll be no letting up from us. We want to perform well every week so we can really build for next season."
Meanwhile, the defender says the dramatic 3-2 win over Cardiff City was the best feeling he's ever had in his life.
Darling once again operated at right-back against the Bluebirds as Ben Cabango struck a 99th minute winner to ensure the Swans claimed a second successive double over their fierce rivals earlier this month.
"It was honestly the best feeling I've ever had, probably in life, not just in football," he explained. "I felt like we deserved to win. The way we did it, it was unbelievable. I'm just happy to do the double double.
"I've lost count of how many times I've watched the videos. The scenes are unbelievable. Every player and every fan was just so happy."
Warnock's set-piece work
Neil Warnock says Huddersfield Town have put extra work into set-pieces of late as his side prepare to face "solid" Swansea City.
The Terriers appeared destined for the drop but have collected 11 of the last 15 points available - a sequence which includes win over Middlesbrough and Watford - to move out of the Championship's bottom three.
And Yorkshireman Warnock hailed the finishing ability of Russell Martin's attackers ahead of Huddersfield's trip to the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday.
"We can worry about ourselves and we've got to try to do our best against Swansea this weekend," said Warnock.
"Swansea are a solid side, they keep the ball really well and move it well with good finishers up front. We've got to concentrate and give them a good game, and try to not be back in that bottom three after these Swansea and Sunderland games.
"You do play differently when you're full of confidence, you've got an extra yard and an extra buzz about you, we've seen that recently. I like scoring goals and we've got players capable of scoring , if I'm honest. We work extra on set-pieces to make them count."
Starlet signs new contract
Ruben Davies has signed a new contract to remain with Swansea City until the summer of 2024.
The young striker has enjoyed a fine season with the club's Under-21s having previously struggled to make an impact due to injury.
And Welshman Davies - who has nine goals to his name this term - has put pen to paper on a deal that will see him stay with the Swans until the conclusion of the 2023/24 campaign.
"Myself and all of the coaching staff are extremely proud of Ruben, and with the injuries he has had over the past two years, it's amazing," said coach Anthony Wright.
"He's been very good this year, and the important thing for us was making sure we get him on the grass this season, and the performance team have done incredibly well.
"He's not had enough momentum over the last couple of years due to injury, but he has grown a lot in a short space of time.
"I'd say he's been on the grass more this season than he has in the last three years, which has had effects on his body here and there, but he's pulled through that.
"We're starting to see the quality that he undoubtedly has. He's not starting every game, and that's not down to performance, we just need to look after him, and look what he does when he comes on.
"It's a building process with Ruben at the moment, but he puts his head down and works hard. We're really pleased for him."
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