Cooper focused on the play offs despite Watford challenge

Steve Cooper will lead his side into the 46th – and final – game of the regular season knowing that it is the last game in which he can prepare for the challenge that awaits around the corner in the play offs.

By this time tomorrow the Swans will be aware of their semi final opponents and the order of the two ties with the equation being a simple one, get a point and we finish 4th and secure home advantage in the second leg, anything less than a point and our final league position is in the hands of Bournemouth.

A couple of short months ago it looked as if tomorrow’s game could have been a promotion shoot out between the two sides but now Watford will hold their own promotion party as we look to an extension for the season that we hope will end three weeks tomorrow with a win at Wembley.

The Swans have 80 points on the board, a total that matched our tally from ten years ago and a point tomorrow will see us secure a record points tally at this level no matter what happens in the play offs.  Progression according to the Swans boss as he looks to go at least one step further than last season when we were beaten at the semi final stage by Brentford over two legs.

“We want to play these 46 games and go into the play-offs knowing we’ve given the league campaign all that we’ve got,” Cooper told the official site as part of his build up to the game.

“When you go into the play-offs, you go there knowing you’re in a certain position for a certain reason.

“Whether we get 80, 81 or 83 points, it’s a good return. It’s progress on last season in what has been a unique season in terms of scheduling for everybody.

“I think the players deserve a lot of credit for it, because it’s been tough. It’s difficult to talk about a conclusion because we know we’ve got what is the most important part to come, which is the play-offs.

“The players, if you put everything into the mix, they deserve a hell of a lot of credit. But we’re only just focused on the play-offs really while using Saturday as part of that preparation.

“You can say the clubs in the automatic places, and most of the clubs not in the play-offs as well, have bigger budgets, so it’s been a really good effort from the boys.

“Sometimes what we may lack in resource we try to make up in spirit, togetherness, how we work and how we try to play. Fortunately, that doesn’t cost anything.”