Swansea City manager Russell Martin has bigged up his favourite players this week and that’s a pleasing thing to hear for sure. With Kyle Joseph, Morgan Whittaker and Jordon Garrick all out on loan and not on Martin’s mind he has mentioned twenty two year old Ollie Cooper as a player he likes a lot. Tomorrows game by the seaside, a place once awash with household names on the pier is nowadays more about the price of a pint and a cheap night out.

We all know now there’s a slow progressive unrealistic belief that Russell Martin and his coaching team have failed. However, that belief isn’t formed out of the reality that it would cost hundreds of thousands to get rid of the current staff, it comes from the Blackburn loss last Saturday, and the capitulation at Oxford on Tuesday night. The more informed will refer back to last season and no wins since April, but that’s to prove a point, not accept the financial focus of the club.

With that in mind and the absolute fact Jay Fulton isn’t wanted by Russell Martin at the club then midfielder Ollie Cooper should be the first name on the team sheet for tomorrows game. Why bother playing a player you don’t want because clearly he isn’t good enough for you ? And then big up a young man who right now can develop within the first team squad starting on Saturday ?

As Martin has enthused today Cooper had an eighty six percent pass completion rate on Tuesday. As he said. "Really pleased. That role he did for us throughout pre-season, playing with someone as experienced as Jay Fulton certainly helped," said Martin when asked about Cooper's display at Oxford. I was really impressed with him. He's someone who needs to believe in himself more, and really believe he can impact things here. He's a great kid and he has a lot of ability as you can see. He's very flexible and versatile in terms of tactically and the positions he can play in. It's about building belief in him that he can really impact things because I think he's definitely got a role to play for us in the future."

That is the role Cooper played through pre season, and he did do it very well, so why isn’t he playing ?

Let’s get him on then, let’s stop talking about it, Fulton isn’t in your plans so why not ? Playing Steven Benda on Tuesday was a big mistake as well, on one hand we are told that Andy Fisher, Harry Darling and Nathan Wood need more time to develop as a unit, then they aren’t given that time in a game that shouldn’t have stretched them that far.

Russell Martin’s openness in interviews does at times give certain people the ammunition to fire back at him, be that through a lack of understanding as to what he is on about, or the fact they have heard enough over the past year of what is now called progression …

Nobody really favours a swans win tomorrow afternoon, so why not ? Win, lose or draw he won’t get sacked so let’s go for it. If he’s as good as the manager says then let’s see him on the pitch. There is absolutely nothing to lose.

Photographs licensed from Reuters

Freelander added 08:20 - Aug 13 No Russell Martin is someone one them two got on the cheep and has not got a clue how to manage a championship team leaving young players go just because he does not like them and bringing in players who are not good enough when will Lavien and Kaplan learn when it is to late no they think more of the club they own in the states DC United nothing is to good for that team

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