Swansea City midfielder Tom Butler has indicated that best of him is still to come as the season reaches a grandstand finish.
After the signing of Mark Gower from Southend United in the summer the Irishman's future at the club was hanging in the balance but Swans boss Roberto Martinez kept the faith in the 27 year old. Over the course of the season the former Sunderland man has been struggling with a long term groin injury all season as he revealed to the WM, he said “I had a good run of games at the start of the season. I've been struggling all year with groin and lower abdominal problems. It got to the stage where I had to stop, and it takes you a few weeks to get back into the swing of things.”
He added “I was in and out of the side and it’s hard to be consistent that way.I feel I’m getting back to form and there’s only nine or 10 games left.”
“If I can play in those, that’s great – and I’ll worry about treatment afterwards.It’s a great boost for us to make the top six,”But the only reason we got there is because of hard work and determination. It’s up to us to stay there now by building on those performances.”
After the run of draws that almost handed the Liberty Stadium club the unwanted record of the most consecutive league draws, lessons have been learnt and Butler hopes that the winning feeling keeps on coming, “We’ve ridden a little bit of a storm and we’ve come back stronger. The draws didn’t help us and it was important for us to break out of that and get into a winning habit. We’ve done that, and we’ve been more consistent these last few games.”
Praising the Swansea midfield the Dubliner has only good words to say about the likes of Leon Britton and Joe Allen and believes that the club have been blessed to have such a purposeful and strong midfield, “We’re really lucky with the players we have, it’s a really good blend. Joe Allen is full of energy and when you’re tired, Darren gives you a boost with his energy by making those runs. Week in, week out, Leon has been outstanding for the last few years.”
He added “When Ferrie comes back fit next season, we’ll have one of the strongest midfield's around.”
And what of hot-shot striker Jason Scotland ?
“A lot of people were saying, ‘well, he did well last season, but can he do it again in the Championship? Well, he’s stepped up to it and is rubbing shoulders with some big names in the goal-scoring stakes now, and is ahead of the likes of Kevin Phillips. He's always smiling, he’s a fantastic character and it’s great to see him doing well.