Jon Grey | Whatever the game, Liam craves success

17th January
Liam Cullen

Jon Grey knows better than most just how deep Liam Cullen’s insatiable desire for success runs, whether he’s scoring goals for Swansea City Under-23s or taking on his team-mates at table tennis or darts.

Twenty-year-old Cullen is in a rich vein of goalscoring form heading into tomorrow’s Premier League Cup showdown with Charlton Athletic at Landore (1pm).

Please note that the game will not be available to view via SwansTV Live.

Cullen netted his first hat-trick for the development side in Monday’s commanding 5-1 victory over Middlesbrough in Premier League 2 Division Two.

That made it four goals in two games for the Tenby-born forward, who also bagged the winner from the penalty spot in the previous week’s 1-0 success at Stoke.

It also took his total for the season to 11 in all competitions – already surpassing his tally for the entire 2018-19 campaign.

Cullen’s exploits and constant desire to stick the ball in the net are no surprise to interim under-23s coach Grey, who has closely followed most of the striker’s progress since he first joined the club as an eight-year-old.

Liam Cullen

Grey also revealed that is it not only on the football pitch that Cullen’s sheer hunger for success is evident.

“Liam’s a fantastic talent. I’ve known him for a long time and he’s a great lad,” the under-23s coach said.

“He loves scoring goals – whether it’s in games or training – and gets on his team-mates’ cases when they don’t give him the ball.

“Through all the years I’ve known him, he scores nine times out of 10 when you put the ball there for him to finish.

“He’s very driven and focused. Even at Fairwood, whether he’s playing table tennis in the canteen or darts in the kit room, he always wants to win.

“As long as he keeps setting his standards high and performing the way he is, it will be good for him to play at a senior level at some point.”