Steve Cooper | It's a short turnaround, but we will be ready

Steve Cooper insists Swansea City will be ready and raring to go against Middlesbrough tonight, despite a short turnaround.

The Swans are back in Championship action at the Riverside Stadium tonight, having last played at lunchtime on Sunday in victory over Nottingham Forest.

Middlesbrough have had an extra day to prepare as the relentless Championship schedule continues apace.

But head coach Cooper knows such instances are inevitable given the vagaries of such a large number of games being played in a short window.

And he says the Swans will not be looking for any excuses as they look to build on taking seven points from the three games following the international break.

“Forest was a good day, there’s no doubt about that, but we have to put what happened to bed and move on and get ready for the next game,” said Cooper.

“It’s a quick turnaround and one that’s not been too kind to us, playing teams that have had an extra day’s rest all the time. That’s difficult in this schedule anyway.

“But we’re not going to moan about it, we’re going to get on with it and not let it affect us.

“We’ll get ourselves up to Middlesbrough in the best shape possible and ready to go and attack the game.

“They’ve had a good start to the season; they’ve not conceded many goals and have invested in some good players.

“Obviously, they have an experienced manager as well – that needs to be recognised. It’s going to be as tough a game as any away from home and we need to be ready, but we will be.”

Boro have lost two of their last three games, which came on the back of a 10-game unbeaten sequence that had them in the play-off places.

They have conceded just nine goals in their 14 league games – only the Swans have let in fewer in the Championship – and Cooper is expecting Neil Warnock’s side to provide a stern test.

“We respect what we’re coming up against and the managers that coach the teams; you have to,” added Cooper.

“But our idea is what we bring to every game and that will be no different.

“You have to recognise what Neil’s done in the game; his longevity and the amount of promotions. “We analyse every game the same and look at how a team plays, what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are.

“We have nothing but respect for that, but then we must get our own house in order and try to put the best plan together with the idea of what we do being the most important.

“I know they got beat at Huddersfield, but they’re generally in good form, it will be another tough game.”