Steve Cooper | Our mindset has to be right

Steve Cooper insists Swansea City will keep their mindset right as the battle for a Championship play-off place goes down to the wire.

The Swans head to Reading for their final game of the campaign on Wednesday, knowing they can still force their way into the top six.

They are three points off sixth spot, so know they will need to emerge victorious at the Madejski Stadium to have any chance of making the cut.

Should they win, they would then need results in the games involving Cardiff or Nottingham Forest to go their way.

The Swans need either of the Bluebirds of Reds to lose against Hull or Stoke respectively, while they would also need a five-goal swing on goal difference to finish above Sabri Lamouchi’s side.

Given the unpredictability of the Championship it could prove to be an exciting and nervous night.

But Cooper has made clear he will not be looking elsewhere, with his focus on Swansea getting the job done.

That’s how he expects his squad to approach the game, and not be distracted by what might be going on elsewhere in terms of points, goal difference, goals scored or any other parameter.

“We have just got to win, we said before Bristol City we had to get six points,” he said.

“We have got three, and there are three to go and that’s what we aim for.

“We can only take care of what we can, and we need things to go our way elsewhere.

“But if we don’t do our side of it, nothing good will happen.

“It’s not just about scoring goals, we want to avoid conceding. We want to play attacking football, that is always our first idea.

“If we get it right we feel we have goals in the team, but we also want a clean sheet, and there will be a big emphasis put on that as well.

“It’s not dissimilar to what we would do in any game. It’s still a game of football, we will have to do the basic.

“We have to work hard, we have to be confident. That’s what we will start from, before we worry about anything else.”