Swansea City head coach Russell Martin has admitted that Michael Obafemi will be included in the club's match-day squad for their showdown with Blackpool tomorrow.

The forward, who joined the Jacks on a permanent basis from Southampton in the summer transfer window, was forced to watch on from the sidelines earlier this month as his side suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of AFC Bournemouth.

Martin confirmed after the fixture that Obafemi had been left out of the team due to a lack of professionalism.

Swansea's top-scorer Joel Piroe led the line for Swansea at the Vitality Stadium and is likely to keep his place in the club's starting eleven on Saturday.

Having failed to deliver the goods against Bournemouth, it will be intriguing to see whether the Jacks are able to deliver a response to this setback at the Swansea.com Stadium this weekend.

Currently 12th in the Championship, Martin's side will leapfrog Blackpool in the league standings if they seal all three points tomorrow.

Making reference to Obafemi ahead of this fixture, Martin has confirmed that the former Southampton man will be included in the club's squad.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference (as cited by the club's official Twitter account) about the forward, Martin said: "The guys behave so well, they're so professional so if something's not aligned with that it really stands out.

 

 

"Michael was really frustrated with himself and he's going to be involved this weekend."

The Verdict

After being left out of the team for the club's meeting with Bournemouth, Obafemi will be desperate to prove his worth to Martin on Saturday.

In the six league games that he has played for Swansea this season, the forward has struggled considerably with his consistency in the Championship as he is currently averaging an underwhelming WhoScored match rating of 6.25 at this level.

When you consider that Obafemi has only managed to score once for his new club, it is abundantly clear that he will need to step up to the mark if he is to become a mainstay in the Jacks' starting eleven.

By producing a positive performance this weekend, the forward may be able to use the confidence gained from this display to push on in the coming months.