Cooper pleased to see Liam Cullen take his opportunity

Steve Cooper praised Liam Cullen and felt the young striker had made the most of a deserved opportunity as he made his full debut against Rotherham.

The 21-year-old was handed his first start for his boyhood club, and the academy product played his part in a 1-0 win that moved Swansea up to fourth in the Championship.

Cullen first joined the club’s academy at the age of eight, and was handed his first-team chance earlier this year after his impressive goalscoring form for the under-23s.

He netted his first goal in the play-off clinching win over Reading last term, and Cooper was pleased to see the young forward reach another milestone in his fledgling career.

“Liam is a local boy who has been in the academy forever. He deserved his opportunity, deserved his chance and he did really well,” said Cooper.

“The icing on the cake would have been one of his shots or chances going in, which you do fancy him to do to be honest, because he is a goalscorer.  

“I was pleased to see how he handled the level, he didn’t look like a young boy making his first start. He looked like a lad who had played games before and he’ll become an attribute for the squad. 

“We’re missing players unfortunately through no fault of our own, which is always frustrating, but we’ll deal with it as it comes along. We showed a lot of character today, and I was pleased with that.”