Mike van der Hoorn | Team spirit key to great start

Swansea City centurion Mike van der Hoorn believes the squad’s team spirit has been a key factor in their excellent start to the season.

The Swans swept to the top of the Championship table with a 1-0 win over Leeds at Elland Road on Saturday; Wayne Routledge’s late goal sealing a first win at the Yorkshire venue since 1949.

All told, head coach Steve Cooper has seven wins and one draw from his first eight games at the helm, the best start for any boss in Swans’ history.

Cooper’s men have had to show resilience, coming from behind to claim three of their wins and remaining unbeaten away from home despite challenging fixtures at Derby, QPR and Leeds.

And Dutch defender van der Hoorn feels the togetherness of the first-team group has shown itself in moments of adversity.

“The team spirit has been the key factor to our fantastic start,” he said.

“If we didn’t have that then we would have collapsed at Leeds because they created a lot of chances.

“We just stuck together and got our reward.

“The subs came off the bench and made a difference because they brought a lot of positive energy to the side.”

The win at Elland Road marked van der Hoorn’s 100th appearance for Swansea since joining in the summer of 2016, and it is a landmark he is proud to have reached.

“I’m very happy to reach the landmark. It means a lot to me,” he said. “That’s something you want to achieve as soon as possible because it shows that you’re playing every game.

“I’ve played a lot of games over the past couple of years. It shows that I’m fit and ready for every game.

“I want to keep pushing for more now.