Richards: Opportunity knocks for U23s

Swansea City Under-23s coach Gary Richards insists places are up for grabs going into their Premier League 2 clash against Tottenham on Monday (7pm).

The young Swans face Spurs at the Lamex Stadium in Stevenage after recording their first win of the season in division 1 against Derby last Monday.

Goals from first-team players Wilfried Bony and Luciano Narsingh added to Oli McBurnie’s double and Kenji Gorre’s late strike to secure a 5-2 victory against the Rams at the Liberty Stadium.

And with the experience of Bony and Narsingh back with the first team, Richards wants younger players to make the most of their opportunity.

“There are places up for grabs in the team,” he said. “It is no secret we won’t have the same first team players at our disposal for tomorrow’s game.

“It means there is an opportunity for other players to come in and make sure they stake a claim in the team.

“Monday’s win against Derby has given us confidence and we want to use that result as a catalyst to continue to raise our game for back-to-back performances in the league.

“Our players learned a lot from the experience of first-team players alongside them and I hope we can show that in upcoming games. 

“We have to make sure we are competitive and continue to raise our game.”