Cooper hopeful of cup shock as ‘re-energised’ Swans travel to Premier League Bournemouth looking for an upset 

In a re-match of the League Cup second round match-up against the Cherries, the Swans travel to the South Coast in search of their first victory in 14 games against the Premier League outfit. A run stretching back to 2007.  

The two sides met in an early season encounter played at the Swansea.com Stadium which ended in disappointment for the Swans. After taking the lead early in a back-and-forth contest. Micheal Duff’s side would be on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline after a late stoppage-time Ryan Christie winner proved to be the difference between the two sides on the night.  

Much has changed since then with Bournemouth impressing in the top-flight under Spaniard Andoni Iraola, whilst the Swans saw the end of Duff’s short tenure in December coincide with an upturn in results on the pitch under caretaker head-coach Alan Sheehan and now permanent number one Luke Williams. 

Wales international Cooper has noticed a difference in morale in the camp since the arrival of head-coach Williams from Notts County this month and already sees signs of progress. 

Whilst Cooper admits that there is plenty to work on, he believes things are moving back in the right direction and his teammates are more than capable of pulling an upset tonight against Iraola’s in form Cherries side. 

“There has been a big difference working with him [Luke Williams] around the changing room and on the training pitch. He has brought a real surge of energy to everything,” explained Cooper. 

“He has been here before so know’s a few of the players, the place and the fans. He knows how much everything means to the supporters. 

“He has come in and settled in well and re-energised everyone. 

“He has come in with a different identity to what [Michael] Duff had and is honing in on the possession side of things which is what we thrive on. 

“There are a lot of similarities to what he wants us to play to what we did last year, so he’s trying to come in and build off that. 

“Everyone loves a good cup run. You want to stay in the competition as long as you can and play against as many teams as possible. 

“I can’t wait [to face Bournemouth]. You want to face the big teams and try and challenge yourself against Premier League opposition. 

“We have to take this game head-on, do as much as we can and hopefully get through to the next round. 

“We have faced them already this season so it would be nice to get one back. We want to give them a game and see what we can do. 

“It is always easier to go into games where there is less pressure on you [being the underdogs] but we know ourselves that we are good enough to win the game. 

“We know it won’t be easy, but we have to do everything we can to focus on ourselves and our performance and hopefully we will do enough. 

“They have started off a bit slow but have picked up now and are on good form at the moment. It will be a good test and challenge and it is something we are all looking forward to.” 

[Lead image: Swansea City FC]