Carl Rushworth pleased with positive start at Swansea City

Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth feels he has settled in quickly at Swansea City after keeping his first clean sheet for the club in the Carabao Cup win over Northampton Town on Tuesday evening.

The cup match was the Brighton & Hove Albion loanee’s second outing in Swans colours after making his debut in a 1-1 draw with Birmingham City on the opening day of the Championship season.

The Swans went behind in that match but Rushworth’s mentality and ability was praised by Swans boss Michael Duff as the keeper was able to push the disappointment of conceding aside and make a series of impressive saves which ultimately helped earn a point.

And Rushworth believes he’s learned a lot already, and will only improve throughout the season.

“Ever since I came into the building, the lads have welcomed me as one of their own and I think the fans have done that as well,” he said.

“I think it’s been really positive.

“The team helped me out on Saturday, but that’s the difficult thing about being a goalkeeper, if you make a mistake no one is there to bail you out.

“Mistakes are part of the game, you’re not going to be perfect every moment of every matchday, but it’s about how you deal with them.

“It’s about learning from them putting them out of your mind and not allowing it to impact your next action.

“It was pleasing to get my first clean sheet on Tuesday. The boys were class. I thought we were worthy of the three points last weekend. I thought the lads were really professional getting the win and the clean sheet in the cup.

“Hopefully there are many more clean sheets to come.”

Saturday’s game will mark Rushworth’s first away outing with the Swans, and he expects a tough test from opponents West Bromwich Albion.

“I think every single game in this league is very tough,” he added.

“It’s a difficult league; there are no easy games.

“But I think we’re taking a good following so I’m sure they’ll be our 12th man.

“This gaffer lets us to play with freedom. We’ve learned a bit of game management from Saturday so it’s good to get that out of the way. It’s not going to happen again.

“Going forward, the gaffer is really keen on us playing with purpose. He wants us to try and attack and create goal-scoring opportunities.

“On an individual level, I want to make sure I stay fit, play as many minutes as I possibly can and one of my targets is to keep more clean sheets than I did last season.

“The gaffer’s been really good with me. He’s taken the pressure off my shoulders, which is what you need.

“I want to make sure he doesn’t have to look back and worry about the goalkeeper. I want to show him that I’m going to be steady and hopefully I’ll help win the club some points somewhere down the line.”