Welsh international Ethan Ampadu is the inspiration for players in manager Paul Bodin’s Wales under-19 squad. That’s Bodin’s view as he prepares his young Welsh players for Uefa under-19 Championship action. Chelsea’s Ampadu is 18-years-old and still qualifies for Bodin’s group, but is now playing senior international football. “For players like Ethan, who is the […]

Graham Potter insists he has not glanced at the Championship table – even though Swansea City have crept back up to eighth spot. The Swans manager saw his team win 1-0 at Bolton thanks to Barrie McKay’s superbly drilled strike and are back to within two points of the play-offs. But Potter – whose teams had thrown away the lead to lose late on at Rotherham the week before – wants to concentrate on cause rather than effect.

Graham Potter admits Wilfried Bony is determined to make up for lost time after finally being given the all-clear to resume playing for Swansea City. The Ivory Coast striker has been sidelined since February after damaging knee ligaments in a Premier League defeat by Leicester.

The FA Cup kicks-off this weekend with Newport County carrying the flag for Wales in the first round and hoping not to suffer any alarms away at Met Police. Owen Morgan salutes the slayers of giants in the competition by recounting a Welsh killing that’s among history’s best. David, or perhaps more appropriately Dai, has been responsible for many FA Cup giant-killing feats against football’s Goliaths here in Wales over the years. Who could forget that little scamp Micky Thomas’ terrific free-kick to set Fourth Division Wrexham on their way to humbling English Champions Arsenal at the Racecourse in 1992?

Swansea City manager Graham Potter believes there is plenty more to come from Matt Grimes after the midfielder agreed a new four-year deal. Grimes’ current contract was up at the end of the season and although the 23-year-old has taken a while to make an impact after leaving Exeter three-and-a-half years ago, this has been something of a breakthrough campaign. With the club back in the Championship and a number of rival midfielders having left the Liberty Stadium, Grimes has made 15 appearances so far this season – more than twice as many as he made in his first 18 months at the club before going out on various loans.

Mike van der Hoorn has told his Swansea City team-mates they need to be far more ruthless if their promotion campaign is not to falter. The Swans lost 2-1 at Rotherham on Saturday, despite dominating almost the entire match and leading 1-0 until the final 11 minutes. “We have to score goals to kill the game,” said Swans skipper van der Hoorn after his team caved in to concede two late penalties.

Oli McBurnie insists Swansea City and their manager Graham Potter are too raw to take any notice of the Championship table. The Swans striker is part of a team that currently lay eighth and could move higher if they win at Rotherham on Saturday. That would be a third successive league victory for Potter’s side – something the club have not achieved since May 2017, when they won their final three games of the season under Paul Clement to remain in the Premier League.

Joe Rodon has described signing a new long-term contract at Swansea City as a dream come true, but fans will be anxious Connor Roberts soon shares the same destiny. Both highly promising young defenders were on deals that run out at the end of this season and major clubs such as Manchester City and Aston Villa have been monitoring their progress. Rodon, who turned 21 last week, had not played for his hometown club before the start of this season.

Oli McBurnie feels ready to carry the burden of being Swansea City’s goal provider after an hour-long pep talk from Graham Potter. The Scotland striker has admitted his chin was on his chest after he was given stick from fans following games in this month’s international break.

Oli McBurnie ended his barren spell with two goals to see off Reading – not that his manager felt his striker was sleepless in Swansea. McBurnie’s double enabled the Swans to overcome Reading, 2-0, at the Liberty Stadium and move back to within two points off the play-offs. The goals were McBurnie’s first for eight matches, but Graham Potter insisted: “He’s an unselfish guy who isn’t bothered as long as the team wins and I think he’s contributed with assists.

Paul Clement returns to Swansea City on Saturday with an appreciative thumbs-up from a player who will try and ruin his day. The former Swans manager brings his Reading side to the Liberty Stadium 10 months after he was sacked in a gamble that eventually backfired and led to the club’s relegation from the Premier League. Clement had produced a miraculous escape the season before, but was not given an opportunity to repeat it last December and although Carlos Carvalhal temporarily lifted the club clear of trouble they eventually slipped back and went down.

Oli McBurnie believes Swansea City can continue to climb the Championship table which he says is “the strangest thing I’ve seen in my life.” The Swans striker led the line as his team recovered from a goal down to win 3-1 at home to Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night. The victory catapulted the team seven places up the table from 15th to eighth and they are now only a point outside the play-off places.