Bodies on the line as Darling looks to step on at Swansea City

Harry Darling is fast approaching his 50th appearance for Swansea City and the central defender says that the team is prepared to put bodies on the line for the cause as they continue their preparation for the visit of leaders Leicester City to the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday.

Darling has scored five goals in his appearances to date which adds an additional dimension to the Swans squad for the player who joined for MK Dons at the start of last season after previously working with Russell Martin at the Dons.

Darling was one of three players that Martin wanted to bring to Swansea with Andy Fisher having arrived the previous January but the Swans boss missed out on Matt O’Riley who went to Celtic in the same window.

Darling admits that the start of his time at Swansea was not the easiest with the move to South West Wales being his first time away from home.   Anybody in any walk of life will tell you how tough that can be but coupled with a step up in division then it was a challenge for the player that took some getting used to.

Fast forward sixteen months though and Darling and his girlfriend are settled in the area and the player is now ready to build on that time here in Swansea as he looks to take steps up in his playing career as well as being seen more as a leader both on and off the pitch.

Speaking in a detailed interview to the club’s official website Darling said “I think last year was a big learning curve for me, but now I have had a year with the club and I need to step on from here.

“I am really settled here and I just want to be a big part of things on and off the pitch as a character and a player.

“I am still young, but if you look at what is still a youthful squad, it’s not like I am a kid. I just want to be more of a leader here and take on more responsibility.

“I will be honest and say I was a bit surprised by the jump last season, and I have had to tell myself some home truths and admit I probably took it for granted that the step up would be what I had expected it to be.

“As I look back at it, with that year of experience of the Championship, I realise I had some misconceptions about it and I’ve had to – and I want to – really challenge myself.

“I am determined to really push myself, because there were a lot of things to take on board.

“The physicality of the league and the speed of it were two things you notice straight away, and off the field it was the first time I had moved away from home.

“You settle into a new area, and that comes with its own challenges. My girlfriend and I have been really fortunate in that we absolutely love Swansea and have had a very warm welcome from the people here, but it was part of a lot of change and those things can take time.

“It was probably bigger than I thought it would be, but with the year behind me I am just determined to try and be a big part of what we are doing here.”

Darling has played his part in the Swans four game winning streak having been introduced early in the 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday due to the injury suffered by Nathan Wood in the opening moments of that game.   It is the experience of last year that has helped him play such a big part of this year but he was also the latest player to add comments about the togetherness of the squad that has helped gain the results that we have seen.

“I think if you look at the games this season we have had spells in games where you have been able to see patterns coming out in our play and that has grown as the games have gone by” he added.

“Of course, we would have liked to have had a better start, we don’t want to lose and we certainly don’t like losing. It’s a horrible feeling.

“But everyone has stuck together, continued to work hard for each other, put our bodies on the line for each other and I think you can see that in this recent run of results.

“There’s plenty more hard work ahead, but we have a real platform to build on.”