Swansea City boss Steve Cooper is hopeful his side can maintain their positive early season form with a win against Norwich City tomorrow.
The Welsh side currently sit in second place in the Championship after winning five of their opening ten fixtures and are unbeaten in their last five matches as they travel to Norfolk to face the Canaries.
Despite their positive recent results, Cooper is under no illusions that the encounter with the Canaries will serve as a major litmus test for his side.
“It will be a really tough test. They were in the Premier League last season and had a strong Championship campaign before that. A lot of that identity still remains. But I think it comes at a good time for us. We embrace the challenges in front of us and we’re really looking forward to getting going.
“I think we are just taking it one step at a time. Our focus is completely on how we win the game and how we play tomorrow. We’re not thinking beyond that. They’ve got a clear way of playing with some good players.
“I feel like we’re progressing. There’s always room for improvement. The points return has been decent, I think it could have been more.”
Former Canaries defender Ryan Bennett has bolstered their defensive options whilst Korey Smith joined from Bristol City to provided more depth in midfield.
For Cooper, consistency is the key to success in the Championship, hence why he takes so much pride of his side’s performances in the division so far.
The Swans lost their play-off semi final to Brentford over two legs last season, and Cooper believes he has learned where they need to improve in order to become challengers once again.
“We see that every year. This league, in the end, the teams that do well are the ones that are the most consistent,” Cooper said in his press conference.
“Consistency is difficult to get in this league, so to put form together can be really important in this league, probably more so than in any others. It’s only a good run if you keep it going.
“The motivation has always been there. It’s to stay in the present and live in the moment, and make sure we get the most out of every day. I don’t think this is a season for looking too far ahead or looking back.
“You can lose three games, but you’ve still got to win the next one. I probably realised that during the lockdown, more than in between this season and last season.
“I watched all of our games back during that period at home. I just thought, you can reflect on everything and learn, but I thought you just have to get as much as you can get out of every single minute of every game.
“That was a big reflection and lesson to me and one we’re trying to take into this season.”
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