'We can achieve great things'

13th November
First team

Matt Grimes believes the Swans have made big strides forward on and off the pitch already this season.

The Swans sit two points off the play-off spots after 17 games in the Championship, with victory over Bolton last time out earning Graham Potter’s men a third away win of the campaign.

Since taking over at the Liberty this summer, Potter has guided his team to seven wins and five draws in the second tier.

The former Ostersund boss has come in for plenty of praise for the style in which he has got his team playing, while Potter has given several players opportunities to impress at this level.

Grimes is one of those to have earned a chance to break into the starting XI, along with Joe Rodon, Daniel James, Connor Roberts and Oli McBurnie.

And the 23-year-old believes Potter has been repaid with some promising displays from his young guns.

“The difficult job of a manager is not knowing if young players will sink or swim when they’re thrown in at the deep end,” said Grimes, who had spent the last two-and-a-half years out on loan at Blackburn, Leeds and Northampton Town.

“He’s given a number of players opportunities this season and we’ve all repaid him with decent, solid performances.

“This summer I came back to the club not really knowing where my future lay. But Graham talked to me and said he wanted to give me a chance to see what I can do and hopefully he could help me develop.

“He’s certainly done that – I feel a better playing for working under him and I’m really enjoying it.”

Grimes was one of three players to sign new contracts at the Swans last week, with Jay Fulton and Rodon also putting pen to paper.

And he feels that shows the club is making the right calls off the pitch too.

“The future here is bright and is something I want to be part of,” said Grimes. “That’s why the club has tied down the futures of Joe and Jay too.

“Three players have now committed to the club who really want to be a part of pushing the club forward.

“We have created such a good feeling around the club – not just the players and staff but the supporters too.

“Positive feelings breed positive results. If everyone is on the same page, the supporters are behind us week in week out – which they have done all season – and the players are giving 100 per cent for the shirt then it shows we are all in this together.

“Together, as a club, we can achieve great things.”