It’s the first game of the season for both Rotherham United and Swansea City at the Nrw York Stadium on Saturday. ( Kick off 3pm ) with extra tickets now on sale for swans fans and sales already well over a thousand there is much expectation on Russell Martin’s second season in charge at the swansea.com.

Some of the swans performances last season were breathtaking, some were disastrous, and overall the campaign can be described as frustrating, but with definite glimpses of what Russell Martin can achieve on the pitch. Conversely Paul Warne the Rotherham manager enjoyed a fantastic season in league one after a last day relegation in 2021. Some will recall that relegation came about as they drew their final game against Cardiff City, which in turn kept now relegated Derby County in the championship. A year is a long time in football and getting promoted in second place was just reward for the millers hard work last season.

The millers lowest attendance last time around at home was just over eight thousand and their highest eleven and a half thousand, very decent for league one. With their stadium now able to hold a capacity of just over twelve thousand and a big Swansea travelling support we can expect a nigh on sell out on Saturday. The beauty of the first away game of the season is the expectation, and of course it won’t be cold. Rain can affect proceedings but all in all the expected shirt sleeve crowd will enjoy all the emotions of opening day football.

Both Ben Cabango and Joe Allen are working hard towards having some participation in the game. The former may have to settle with a spot on the bench and Joe Allen is in a similar position. Both are recovering from injury and it’s clear that Russell Martin is hesitant at including them in a starting eleven. Further injury to both would be a disastrous start to the season.

And Russell Martin needs things to progress smoothly with all Swansea eyes upon him.

Cabango has made his intentions clear. “It’s the first league game and I want to make sure I’m in contention to play that one. It’s a really good feeling to be back out on the field, it’s been a long way back but I’ve been pushing myself and it feels good to be back out there and get rid of all the cobwebs” Jamie Paterson too seems confident “We’ve worked very hard; it’s been a difficult pre-season. Even this week, we’re still working hard, but our fitness showed in the end and I thought it was a dominant display in the second half ( v Charlton ) and we could have scored a few more”

Joe Allen wasn’t match fit for last weekends friendly game at Charlton, and he has already signalled his intentions to be ready for this Saturday’s opener. It’s hit and miss at the moment. Speaking last week Joe said. “It’s a long season, we don’t want to take any silly risks, but I think it is realistic to aim for that opening game. Certainly I hope that can be the case if things keep progressing as they are. I want to be on that coach going to Rotherham and I am eager to get going.”

Confidence in the swans camp is high, there are new players in and to date only the loss of Flynn Downes to West Ham has been what could be described as an issue. The club have benefited hugely from the sale.

So what about Rotherham ?

Paul Warne’s tactics last season paid off in a very close scramble for promotion from league one. Only beating MK Dons by a point the millers deservedly got the promotion they deserved along with Wigan Athletic. Losing on only nine occasions last season the millers are a side used to winning over the last twelve months.

Top scorer Michael Smith with nineteen goals last season has left the club for Sheffield Wednesday. The club have enjoyed a loss free pre season and beat Crewe last weekend. Conor Washington and Georgie Kelly Scoring for the millers. A player connected to the swans this summer, Chiedozie Ogbene was absent from the game against Crewe but assistant manager Richie Barker explained that away “Chieo hasn’t trained through illness and obviously we have to be careful with that, so there was not point bringing him” Central midfielder Ollie Rathbone has been on the treatment table this week but is expected to play. This is a very tough opening game for the swans, and newly promoted teams are the most difficult to deal with on their own turf first game of the season. The club haven’t in any way over spent this summer and if there is any concern it will be the players coming in need to hit the ground running in the championship.

Swansea City have an extended allocation of 1,900 away tickets for this fixture. And they can be purchased via the club official website. The club have already sold out their initial allocation. Under 13 tickets are £7, over 60 and armed forces are £14, under 18 are £9 and adults are £24. If you are travelling from Swansea the club are running a number of buses and you can still buy a seat for £37. Call the club for more information on other pick ups available or visit the official website for tickets.

Photographs licensed from Reuters

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