MX23RW : Friday, March 29 05:00:50| >> :120:58710:58710:

Steve Cooper hopes playoff experience helps Swansea against Barnsley

Steve Cooper hopes playoff experience helps Swansea against Barnsley
© Reuters
The Swans lost out to Brentford in the semi-finals last term.

Steve Cooper is counting on Swansea making their Sky Bet Championship play-off experience tell against semi-final opponents Barnsley.

Swansea have reached the play-offs for the second successive season under Cooper, accumulating an extra 10 points this term to finish two places higher in fourth.

Barnsley finished 21st last season, avoiding relegation by a single point, but the appointment of Valerien Ismael last October transformed their fortunes as the Tykes ended the campaign two points adrift of Swansea in fifth.

"We hope that will help us, but it's not just last season," said head coach Cooper, reflecting on their play-off semi-final defeat last term ahead of Monday's first leg at Barnsley.

"Conor Hourihane, for example, has had a lot of play-off experience, some of it at Barnsley.

"Hopefully the players use that experience wisely.

"But it's not just the play-offs. It's the bigger games in general, that's what experience is."

Swansea squeezed into the play-offs on the final day of last season, edging out Nottingham Forest on goal difference.

Cooper's side then suffered a 3-2 semi-final aggregate defeat to Brentford after winning the first leg at the Liberty Stadium 1-0.

"They are obviously bigger games on a bigger stage than normal," Cooper said.

"It's about focusing on the performance and not letting the scrutiny on the games seep in.

"It's important how you manage the first and the second legs and the differences they can give you.

"Notoriously play-off games are frantic at times, and it's about calm heads but being committed at the same time.

"You've got to the use the disappointment of previous experiences as motivation. But equally you've got to know what you can achieve as motivation as well."

Swansea's 16-goal top scorer Andre Ayew has been declared fully fit for the Oakwell clash after hamstring trouble.

Ayew started the final game of the season at Watford last weekend but has not completed 90 minutes since April 13.

Wales Under-21 defender Brandon Cooper misses out after suffering an ankle injury in training.

Swansea were in pursuit of a top-two spot for most of the season but Cooper, who has operated on a tight budget and saw Joe Rodon leave for Tottenham in October, believes making the play-offs again is a notable achievement.

He said: "A lot of stuff here has been against the odds.

"We had a good go at the automatics, even though we found it difficult at the end to keep up because of some of the strength of depth we haven't got.

"But we equalled our record amount of points at this level in what has been a congested season to say the least.

"We've got to take confidence from all of the good things we've done this season, hone in on it and use it well in these next two games."

ID:447622:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect4453:

Click here for more stories about Steve Cooper

Click here for more stories about Swansea City

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Norwich City manager Daniel Farke pictured in February 2021
Read Next:
Daniel Farke pleased to see Norwich finish season "in style"
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds38257670284282
2Leicester CityLeicester37264774334182
3Ipswich TownIpswich38249580493181
4Southampton36227773472673
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom381991059362366
6Norwich CityNorwich381871369541561
7Hull City371610115346758
8Coventry CityCoventry3715121059431657
9Preston North EndPreston37168134954-556
10Middlesbrough38166165352154
11Cardiff CityCardiff38165174351-853
12Sunderland38146184845348
13Watford381212145351248
14Bristol City38138174245-347
15Swansea CitySwansea381210164858-1046
16Millwall381110173650-1443
17Blackburn RoversBlackburn38119185164-1342
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth381011175462-841
19Stoke CityStoke38118193553-1841
20Queens Park RangersQPR381010183650-1440
21Birmingham CityBirmingham38109194259-1739
22Huddersfield TownHuddersfield38815154261-1939
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds38115223061-3138
24Rotherham UnitedRotherham38311243077-4720


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!