Davies targets more first-team chances
14th December 2013
Oliver Davies is targeting more first-team opportunities after receiving his first call-up to Michael Laudrup's squad to face St. Gallen.
The 18-year-old goalkeeper travelled to Switzerland with the senior squad and was on the bench for Thursday night's Europa League tie, replacing the injured Michel Vorm.
Despite the 1-0 defeat on the night, the Swans qualified for the knockout phase of the Europa League in second position in Group A, after Kuban Krasnodar drew 1-1 with Valencia in Spain.
For Davies, the whole experience of travelling abroad with the first-team was a good one, and the young 'keeper is hoping for more of the same in the future.
"It was a great experience to be around the first-team, and to see what they do in preparation for a game," said Davies. "I've learned a lot.
"When I was sat on the bench next to Ashley [Williams] during the game, he was telling me, if I got on, just to play my normal game. No matter what level it is, just play your same game.
"He said: you know what you can do, and you know what you can't. Just treat it like you're playing for the Under-21s.
"It's been really good. It was an experience to see how hostile some of the fans are abroad and the different culture of another country.
"Being with the first-team is where I want to be - it's where I've been looking up to.
"The aim is to get more chances with the senior side, so I'll go back to the U21s, keep training hard and playing well, and hopefully get more opportunities."
And in typical Swansea City tradition, in order to welcome Davies to the first-team setup, the Welsh starlet had to sing his 'initiation song' in front of all the first-team players and staff at dinner the other night.
The initiation song is something every player has to go through on their first away trip with the first-team, and Davies felt his rendition went well.
"It's obviously my first time with the first-team, so I had to do my initiation," he explained. "I sang Better Together by Jack Johnson. It didn't go too bad actually. I've been dreading it all trip, but it went alright in the end!"
