Steve Cooper insists that all the rumours linking him with the Crystal Palace vacancy are not a distraction as he prepares his side for the second leg of the play off semi final tomorrow evening.

The Swans will not only face Barnsley for the right to be at Wembley in just over a week but will also welcome back a crowd to the Liberty for the first time in 14 months as they look to finish a job that they started with a 1-0 win at Oakwell on Monday evening.

Cooper was immediately installed as one of the favourites for the job when Roy Hodgson announced his departure earlier in the week in a rumour that the Swans could probably have done without in such an important week.

But the Swans boss insists that his mind remains very much focused on the task in handย โ€œItโ€™s not a week for any individual topics or conversations.

โ€œThis week is just about the second leg in the play-offs for Swansea City and doing everything we can to get the right outcome.

โ€œIโ€™m in that bubble like everyone else at the moment and just focusing on that.

โ€œNothing will distract me or anybody else because this week is too important.

โ€œWeโ€™re motivated, weโ€™re excited, all of those things you feel in big games. Nothing else is on our mind and I wonโ€™t let anything get in anyone elseโ€™s mind in our group.

โ€œItโ€™s about recovery, preparation and being as ready as we can for the next game. If you do that, then nothing else creeps in.โ€

By Phil Sumbler

Been watching the Swans since the very late 1970s and running the Planet Swans website (in all its current and previous guises since the summer of 2001 As it stood JackArmy.net was right at the forefront of some of the activity against Tony Petty back in 2001, breaking many of the stories of the day as fans stood against the actions where the local media failed. Was involved with the Swans Supporters Trust from 2005, for the large part as Chairman before standing down in the summer of 2020.