Defensive work pleases head coach Steve Cooper

Swansea City head coach Steve Cooper felt his side had shown another side to their game as they continued their 100 per cent record in pre-season with a 3-0 win at Bristol Rovers.

Jay Fulton, Borja Baston and Joel Asoro got on the scoresheet for the Swans at the Memorial Stadium as they made it five wins from five.

They also kept their first clean sheet of pre-season and, while Cooper was again pleased with the manner in which his side played with the ball, the Swans boss was also happy with the work his players had done out of possession.

“I thought we played some good football again,” said Cooper.

“There were times in the game where I thought the conditions played a part. It was very hot here, like most of the country, and it was probably not the ideal night for a game of football.

“But that’s no problem because I think that adds to the fitness test for the boys, and a lot of them played 75 minutes and 90 minutes which was a step up.

“So to play in more extreme conditions was a good thing and when we moved the ball I thought we looked really good.

“There were times we did not play with the momentum we would have liked, but what I liked about those moments was we looked really good defensively and that is really important.

“A lot is rightly said about Swansea’s style of play and we are very much committed to that and I hope people could see tonight that is what we are intending to do.

“But we are not going to neglect the out of possession side of the game as well, and I was really pleased with that.

“Clean sheets are a good habit for the goalkeeper and the back four, but we are going to defend as a team this season and we looked good without the ball and that resulting in a clean sheet is something we will definitely take.”