Nathanael Ogbeta hopes for more after home debut

Nathanael Ogbeta was pleased to make his home debut for Swansea City as they played out a 0-0 draw with Birmingham City on Saturday, and hopes he can show the fans exactly what he is capable of as he builds up his fitness.

The young defender came on midway through the second half and had a great reception from the Jack Army as he played a Championship fixture in front of them for the first time since he made the move to South Wales from Shrewsbury Town in January.

Ogbeta has had to bide his time after being sidelined with a hamstring injury, but he is delighted to be back on the pitch and is hoping to have a big impact in the remaining games of the season.

“It was awesome. Just to play in front of the fans is amazing,” he said.

“I’ve been playing in League One and the fans aren't as vibrant as they are here so it was really good to get out there and show what I can do. Hopefully I can do more.

“Being injured was difficult, but it gave me time to get stronger in the gym and get used to the surroundings and my team-mates so I feel like I’m in a good place.

"Even though it was a negative situation, I really feel like I’ve got to use it as a positive to get back to full fitness and settle in.

“The international break is so important for me because I haven’t had many training sessions to understand the philosophy and the style of play.

"I’ve watched a lot of the analysis, but I haven’t really been able to work with the gaffer and the team on the demands or what they want from me, so it’s going to be a pivotal time for me to learn and really be an asset to the team.

“The aim is to really understand the style of play and give it our all. We don’t want to just let these games go to waste. We want to use every game to learn, to grow and improve.”

Ogbeta provided a good outlet down the left after his introduction, but couldn't quite find another white shirt with his final delivery.

However, the Swans battled to keep a clean sheet and pick up a useful point.

“It was a difficult game. We’ve had a tough run of fixtures and there’s been a lot of travelling,” Ogbeta added.

“The lads were saying that earlier on in the season that might have been a game we would have lost, so it was good that we showed the character to stay in the game and on another day we could win if we produced a bit more quality.

“The clean sheet shows that defensively we’re doing the right things and we’re on the right track."