Goal Eases Butler Doubts

It may have been a couple of yards out. It may have been a mis hit. It may have seen all the plaudits go to it's creator in Lee Trundle. But the goal that Thomas Butler scored deep into injury time on Saturday at Port Vale seems to have gone a long way to easing doubts that he has cast upon himself since his summer arrival at the Liberty Stadium.

Butler has started just five games for the Swans this season and started on Saturday on the bench before being introduced just after the hour mark into the game. And as Trundle ran rings around the Vale defence it was the former Hartlepool player who was on hand to scuff home the second goal just a minute after Trundle himself had notched the first

"I'm just so pleased to get my first goal for the club - it's been a frustrating time for me," Butler told the Western Mail

"You do start doubting yourself when things aren't going well.

"You want to be playing, but when you're training and not playing, you don't feel you're much a part of things. Sometimes you don't know where you stand.

"You realise sometimes you're going to have to have a spell on the bench when the team's doing well.

"When I have started games, or come on as a substitute, I think I've hit the post three times. It's a nightmare - you go home and you just wonder when things are going to change.

"But there's only so many times you can keep on hitting the post. The law of averages state the ball has to go in at some point and, thankfully, it has done at last.

"Vale Park must be my lucky ground - I scored the winner for Hartlepool here last season."

Photo: Action Images

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