PURE SWANSEA: Midwinter keen to keep Pure identity in Cymru South challenge

Pure Swansea manager Jack Midwinter says his side will keep playing the free-flowing football that helped gain promotion, as they settle into life back in Welsh football’s second tier.

Pure travel to Baglan Dragons on Sunday, a game switched from Baglan’s own ground to the Renewable Centre Stadium in Briton Ferry.

The hosts are looking for their first win of the season after a goalless draw with Trethomas Bluebirds on matchday one, while Pure began with a 3-0 win at Llantwit Major.

Midwinter, whose side won the Ardal South West league and cup double last season, has kept the bulk of that squad together.

“I think probably the first thing there is we’ve kept a lot of players, I think only two or three left at the end of last season, and we brought in four lads,” he said.

“The core of our team and the squad are pretty much the same. So that’s something that we’ve had in our favour.

“Also, the lads have already had connections with the new lads. Being a team based in Swansea and being able to recruit lads who live in the city, they already know each other. So that relationship building happened quite quickly through the pre-season.”

The opening win came somewhere Midwinter had been warned about.

“Llantwit Major, as everyone told me in the prep for this game, is a very, very difficult place to go and play football,” he said.

“They had Adam Roscrow up front and I think Adam was playing in the Football League for Wimbledon four or five years ago, and he’s still only in his early 30s.

“So there were some good players there, but the boys put in a great performance. To score three goals and keep a clean sheet is always going to be positive as a manager, and I think the most important thing is we showed the best version of ourselves at this level.”

That version, he says, means keeping the ball on the floor.

“There are ways and means to play football and there’s certain games where that might not be possible, and we’re not naive in thinking that’s the only way we can play football.

“But where the occasion allows us and where the pitch allows us, we will always love to play our way, which is sort of moving the ball around, using our wide players, getting our creative players on the pitch.

“That’s always the message, just be brave, express yourself and just play in a positive manner as often as we can.”

The recruitment has been local and pointed. Kyle Copp arrived from Pontardawe Town, a rival last season, after a prolific campaign in front of goal.

“Last year when he played for Ponta, three or four of his best mates played for us, so there was a very healthy rivalry there,” Midwinter said.

“Pure won the league and he finished second and went up to the play-off. When the summer came, he said, right, let’s get this sorted because I want to play with my mates and I want to play for Pure.

“We have Casey Coughlin who scored 22 league goals last year, and now we have brought in Kyle who scored 28, so our top line is full of goalscorers in those two.”

Also in are Danny Williams, a former Cardiff City professional who spent last season in the Cymru Premier with Llanelli Town, and Bradley Gibbings, once on Swansea City’s books, who scored the opening goal at Llantwit Major.

“When you’ve got young players like Mason and Casey who are talented and are raw to this level, it is good that you have people like Kyle, Danny and Brad who have got good experience,” Midwinter said.

With the squad averaging 23, he is wary of the expectations building around a club that has been rebuilt and renamed inside a year.

“There’s a lot of hype around the club because it’s new, there’s some really successful people in the higher positions here at the club that are known in the city, and people are wondering and speculating whether we’re going to try and win the league in our first year,” he said.

“The realism is the average age of our squad is around 23 years old. Hopefully there’s time for us to develop with those players and progress with them over the next couple of seasons.

“We’ve bought in quality, that’s going to be proven at this level, but I think we take each game as it comes. I think we’d like to finish in the top half of the Cymru South this year.

“We’re under no illusion that we’re going to turn up to teams and they’re going to let us win. We’re going to have to turn up, be the best versions of ourselves, match everyone’s work rate and ability around the pitch.”

On Sunday, the change of venue may help.

“It’s possibly a little bit of a disadvantage to Baglan this weekend, with the game being moved from their home ground,” he said. “It’s a slightly bigger pitch in Briton Ferry, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage and come away with the three points.”