SWANS: ‘I’m gutted for him’ — Welsh on stepping in for Burgess after 19 years at Celtic

Stephen Welsh’s first competitive game for Swansea City comes with a caveat he would rather not have.

The centre-back is expected to line up at Stoke City on Saturday in place of Cameron Burgess, whose season ended before it started with a ruptured Achilles suffered against Birmingham City.

The two had become friends over the summer, both new to the dressing room.

“I feel terrible for him. It’s probably one of the worst injuries you can get,” Welsh said.

“When the lads found out how serious it was, you can only feel for him. He’s a great guy. He’s welcomed me in. Being from up in Scotland, they really helped me settle in when he came back from the World Cup.

“I’m absolutely gutted for him, and I think everyone is at the club. I’m sure he’ll come back stronger. He’s got a great mentality.”

Welsh’s own arrival in south Wales required a decision he had been putting off for most of his life.

He joined Celtic’s academy as a child and left this summer after almost two decades, having come through to the first team and won titles there, with last season spent on loan at Motherwell.

He was not the only future Swansea player at Fir Park. Elijah Just, who signed this summer and scored on his pre-season debut against Udinese, spent last season there too.

“It was hard, especially when I was there for so long. It’s been 18, 19 years. It was a difficult decision,” Welsh said of leaving Celtic.

“Sometimes you need to make selfish decisions in your career to go and better yourself, to go and play in a different league, a completely different way of playing. I felt like this club was the perfect place for me to come.”

What he believes he brings is less tangible than a clean sheet.

“Coming from Celtic probably added a bit of a winning mentality to the squad. Hopefully it can be the same here,” he said.

“When I signed, I was ready to come in and play. It’s all about winning for me. It’s all about performing, and I feel like that’s what I can bring to the team.”

The Championship will test him in ways the Scottish Premiership did not.

“It will be more physical. Obviously, 46 games compared to 38 up the road is a lot more. It’s going to be more demanding physically and mentally as well,” he said.

“Across the board it’s probably tougher teams. You’ve got 24 teams, really good standards, very physical, everyone will have their different ways of playing.

“You’ve got the three coming down from the Premier League that will bring a lot more quality to the league as well. So it’s going to be a tough one, and one that we’re looking forward to.”

There is more to play for this season, with the play-offs expanded to take in the clubs finishing third to eighth.

“There are a lot of good teams, a lot of top teams that are pushing for the top eight, which is a good change for the play-offs this year,” Welsh said.

“We feel like we’ve got a good quality side, very powerful, good pace. We’ve made some great signings since I’ve joined as well.”

His own target is simpler.

“Personally, to go in and play as many games as possible. We know how challenging the Championship schedule can be. It’s a lot of games that come thick and fast, especially in the winter months,” he said.

“It’s about grinding out games, grinding out wins and seeing how far we can go. There’s so much quality in this squad. We’ve got firepower all over the place and we’ve got good depth as well.”

It begins at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday, against a Stoke side that spent more than any other club in the division this summer.

“We know it’s going to be a difficult game. Every away game in this division is going to be a tough one,” Welsh said.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to start well with a good performance, and if we perform well, we’re confident we can go and win the game.”