PURE SWANSEA: ‘We play football with a smile’: Midwinter says there’s no pressure as Treowen Stars visit

Pure Swansea are back at Swansea Bay Sports Park on Saturday after a fortnight off, and manager Jack Midwinter says his side will play without pressure.

“There’s no pressure on us; we’re just going to enjoy it,” he said. “That’s what we do best, we play football with a smile, we have a beer together, we go out together, we’re mates from the people at the top to the people at the bottom.”

Pure go into the game against Treowen Stars still unbeaten in the Novira Cymru South, after their last game before the break ended 5-5 at Afan Lido.

‘Their form isn’t true to who they are’: Midwinter’s Treowen Stars warning

Midwinter points to Treowen’s win away at Aberystwyth Town, and a 6-1 defeat at Pontardawe Town a few games later.

“I think people will be looking at that part of the game and may be thinking that they’re a team that can leak a lot of goals and are a bit vulnerable,” he said. “But that’s not the team that I’ve heard about and know about.”

He rates Treowen manager Ben Murphy. “Their manager is well-organised, he’s well-experienced and well-versed at this level of football,” he said.

“We’re expecting a tough game. They’re going to be keen for a challenge, it’s going to be physical, it’s going to be a real, what you would expect a Welsh league game to look and feel like. So, we look forward to it.”

Why Midwinter agrees with Mason Kelly on pressure

Midfielder Mason Kelly told Swansea Bay News after reaching 100 appearances that “the pressure is on every other team” because Pure have just been promoted.

Midwinter expects opponents to go one of two ways. “There’s an element of ego in football and I think it takes a lot for a team to give up possession or to set up differently to play against a newly promoted team,” he said.

“I think teams will either really respect us and try and find different ways to beat us or I don’t think they’ll give us the respect that we deserve and think they can turn games into physical battles or 50-50 games or long balls.”

He knows a first season at this level won’t run smoothly. “We’re still adapting, we’re still going to learn, we’re going to make mistakes, there’s going to be times where we have sticky runs and sticky patches,” he said.

“But just understand that the pressure’s not on us. Internally, from the group of players we have in the staff, we’re here to enjoy playing football with each other, representing our city.”

He says most of the squad don’t know what their team-mates do away from football. “I don’t think many of the boys know what each other do for jobs or studies,” he said. “They’re just mates that play footy together and that’s their passion.”

One of them is Jacob Lund, who is studying medicine at Swansea University. “There’s times where, I think last year, I asked Jacob to check someone’s injury. Is he all right to play? And he’s like, I’d play,” Midwinter said. “I was like, well, he’s getting on with his job.”

‘A wake-up call’: what Pure took from 4-1 down at Afan Lido

Pure were 4-1 down after 35 minutes at Afan Lido and came back to lead 5-4, only to concede an equaliser in the dying seconds. Midwinter thinks the night did his players good.

“It gave the boys the wake-up call that they needed to understand what we were on about,” he said. “It’s the first time they’ve really faced adversity in a game of football this season.”

He is still backing his front line. “Week after week, if we don’t concede goals, we’ll win games because we’ve got a great attack,” he said.

“I know the next time it happens we’re better equipped and hopefully we can see games out when we get them.”

Free entry for Swans season ticket holders and NHS staff

Pure are letting Swansea City season ticket holders and Swansea Bay NHS staff in for free until the end of the year. On Saturday, the Swans are away at Queens Park Rangers.

Season ticket holders just need to bring their season ticket with them and show it to the staff on the turnstile, the club says.

“There’s two clubs in our city right now that are doing extremely well at two different levels,” Midwinter said. “It makes a big difference having a crowd there supporting, especially with Swansea boys representing the city.”

“If people are on a Saturday afternoon looking for their football fix, why not come down for free entry to watch local boys play football at a decent level?”

Pure Swansea host Treowen Stars at Swansea Bay Sports Park on Saturday, 24 October (2.30pm kick-off).