Phil SumblerLiam Cullen’s first start for the Swans on Saturday completed a remarkable journey for the Swansea fan who moved from mascot to starting at the Liberty Stadium both against Rotherham.
It was 2006 that a young Cullen lined up as one of the mascots against Rotherham at the Liberty and he can count himself unlucky not to have celebrated his first league start for the club with a goal when he found his first half header well saved and preventing him opening the scoring.
🙌 @LiamJCullen starts for the #Swans 🆚 @OfficialRUFC this afternoon…
Liam was in fact a Swans mascot when we hosted Rotherham in December 2006 🦢
What a story 😍 pic.twitter.com/B05TYufYao
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) November 21, 2020
It is another great example of a local product coming good for the Swans as the hard work and investment in our academy over the years pays dividends and should send a warning out to the club that we should be looking to do everything that we can to ensure that we retain a strong investment in youth at the club.
Cullen follows in the footsteps of many before him in Swansea but there would not be too many players in the professional game on Saturday who could celebrate playing for the side that they once were a mascot for.
Cullen has been on the fringes of the first team under Steve Cooper and of course was one of the players on target in that incredible final day win at Reading last season that sprung the Swans into the play offs when all seemed impossible. And with an injury to Andre Ayew threatening to keep the Swans leading scorer out for a couple of weeks yet there is every chance of more starts for Cullen who will be looking to grab with both hands the opportunity.
“When I found out when I was starting, I mentioned to Shaun Baggridge, who is part of our kit team, that the first time I ever stepped foot on the Liberty was as a mascot against Rotherham,” Cullen told the official site.
“I actually walked out with Tatey that day when I was seven. It’s just a bit of a coincidence that my first start was against Rotherham as well.
“We lost that day, so I wasn’t too happy. I wanted to make sure we got the job done today and thankfully, we did.
“Once I got in the first-team set-up back in January, I’ve worked hard every single day for this day. I’m glad I finally got it and hopefully I can kick on now and keep going.
“I just want to keep playing football for Swansea. It’s what I’ve wanted to do my whole life.
“I love the club and just want to enjoy playing for them. I’m not really looking any further than that.
“Hopefully, as a striker, the goals and assists come with it. I definitely believe in myself; I’m getting more and more confident every day, so hopefully it’s an exciting future.”
And an exciting future is something we all hope Cullen has in front of him and the more successful it is then it should be better for the club as well.
YJB Liam!
