Matty Collins is enjoying life in the spotlight - this time it's his football that is doing it

As the significant other of former Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas, Collins is used to the spotlight to an extent especially thanks to a recent photo shoot in celebrity magazine OK.

And, as you would expect, that in itself gave him his fair share of stick in the Swans changing room that could easily have spurred him onto better things.    Collins has been the one surprise of the pre-season routine at Swansea and got his reward yesterday when he was given his first competitive start in the shirt when he lined up for the Swans championship opener at Charlton.

And he did nothing to disgrace himself despite the Swans falling to a 2-0 defeat and remains in pole position to retain the right back spot - at least until Angel Rangel returns from his injury.

Speaking to today's Wales on Sunday, Collins said “I took the usual stick and banter for the OK! thing, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

“That’s Imogen’s scene and I was happy to support her – but to be honest all I want to do this season is to be talking about football and what I’m doing on the pitch. Hopefully I’ve given myself a chance of doing that.

“It’s been a frustrating time for me and while you don’t worry, you do start to wonder what’s going to happen when you’re not in the manager’s plans.

“But I’ve not spat my dummy out. I’ve worked hard over the summer because I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve and I’ve been raring to go over the last few weeks.

“Nothing seemed to click for me last year. I went to Wrexham on loan hoping to get a break and some first-team football but it was the wrong club at the wrong time.

“They were in a rut, losing eight games on the bounce and, as great as they were to me, they weren’t the footballing side Swansea were, so it didn’t help me in that respect.

“It was an eye-opener and made me appreciate the chance I had at Swansea even more.

“So many lads have dropped down from big clubs and found it’s not worked out and they’ve ended up losing their way in football – and I suppose there was a danger of that happening to me.

“But my head hasn’t been in the clouds and I know how easily it can happen. More often than not, the lads it does happen to think it will be easy when they drop down, but I never thought that would be the case.

“I haven’t been waiting for things to be handed on a plate here – I’ve had to work for my chance and hopefully I’ve earned it.

“I’ve put the hours in because I knew what I wanted and the manager has done a lot of work with me too.

“And, after being involved over pre-season, I’m a lot better when I go home at night. When you’re not playing it’s easy to let it affect your mood and you try not to go around with a face like a smacked backside but it’s tough.

“It’s been nice to have a little bit of a smile over the summer and I think Imogen’s happy to see it!

“She’s noticed I’ve been quite focused over the last month and how hard I worked in the summer – and she’s been great knowing when to leave me alone and when to get in my face!

“She got the balance just right and hopefully she’ll see me smile a bit more this season!”

Photo: Action Images

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