Russell Martin hails hunger and desire shown by Liam Walsh

Russell Martin has hailed the hunger and desire of Liam Walsh in the wake of the midfielder’s fine performances since returning to injury for Swansea City.

Walsh had caught the eye of the coaching staff during the opening weeks of pre-season training last summer, only for a ruptured Achilles to cruelly prevent him staking a claim for a starting role and condemn him to a long spell on the sidelines.

Having worked diligently with the club’s medical and sports science teams, the Everton academy product was able to return ahead of schedule.

He started the games against Millwall, Bristol City, Cardiff City and Coventry City before being rested against Wigan as his workload is managed after that long lay-off.

But he has caught the eye with his terrier-like work ethic off the ball, and his ability to link play and pick a pass on it.

And Martin believes the 25-year-old has the potential to be an influential player for the Swans moving forward.

“Walshy is just playing with so much hunger to prove to everyone what he can do,” said the head coach.

“He is so tenacious, so aggressive, but he has a nice balance to his game because he is a beautiful footballer.

“Technically he is one of the best I have ever worked with. He is so intelligent, he can receive the ball, he is two-footed, he has a lovely range of passing.

“I think he has only started 16 games since helping Coventry get promoted from League One, and he was incredible for them. I remember coming up against them for MK Dons and he was a top performer.

“When we came here he was injured, we were really excited to work with him but it never really got going.

“We are blessed to have him back fit, and we need to make sure we keep it that way and we manage his workload.

“Our medical and sports science teams have been brilliant with him, and he is really grateful to them for the work they have done with him.

“He has helped us massively in these recent games, he has been hugely influential in performances improving, but he has given us a bit of an edge as well.

“At some point he will be ready to complete 90 minutes, I am sure, but we need to make sure he is there first.

“But he is such a popular member of the squad, an amazing person, and we are proud and pleased for him.

“The challenge is to keep this going and keep him fit, because he can be a hugely important player for us.

“He is becoming a fans’ favourite very quickly, he is given us a different dimension, which is nice.”