Russell Martin praises impact of Michael Obafemi after maiden Swansea City goal

Russell Martin praised the impact of Michael Obafemi after the striker netted his first goal for the club.

The summer signing – who arrived from Southampton on transfer deadline day – grabbed his maiden Swansea City goal in Saturday’s narrow defeat against Birmingham at St Andrew’s.

The Swans fell behind to a Troy Deeney strike but Obafemi came off the bench to level matters with a coolly taken finish following a fine pass from Ryan Manning.

And despite the Blues going on to grab a late winner, Martin was delighted to his Obafemi get off the mark in Swans colours and praised the striker for his efforts on the training pitch.

“I’m really pleased for him,” said the Swans boss. “For Michael, that is testament to the hard work he has put in.

“He’s been brilliant this week, he’s worked really hard to get himself fully fit which is where we need him to be.

“I thought he had a real impact when he came on, obviously with his goal but he looked a real threat and hopefully that will relax him a little and he can settle into his stride and he’ll be very, very good for us no doubt.

“He hadn’t trained fully until this week, but this week he’s worked extremely hard in the gym and on the training pitch.

“The way he was with the guys in the dressing room at the Cardiff and West Brom games was fantastic, energising people, and that’s why he deserved to be back involved today.

“Thankfully for us he’s come through it and he’s done really well so that will give him loads of confidence.”