Russell Martin has backed Cameron Congreve following the 18-year old’s full debut.

The Swansea City youngster earned his first start for the team against Nottingham Forest at the weekend.

The playmaker had initially made three appearances off the bench, but this was his first opportunity to make an impression from the get go.

Despite a poor result for the team, Martin was pleased with what he saw from Congreve.

Forest hammered Swansea 5-1, with the Reds still chasing automatic promotion.

But the South Wales club themselves have very little to play for, so giving young players a run-out is a more than worthwhile exercise.

The Swansea boss was delighted with Congreve’s performance and is hoping this is just the beginning for the youngster.

“Cameron deserved to play, he has trained fantastically well with us over the last few months,” said Martin, via the club’s official website.

“We have worked with him for a while now, and we had Olivier Ntcham and Jamie Paterson not quite fit enough to start.

“We could have played some guys who we know more about, but we wanted to learn more about Cameron and I thought he was great.

“He was really good, he showed some good touches and some real maturity.

“He has confidence and he is a great player on the ball and he can make things happen because he is a good technician and we love his mentality.

“He is one we are excited about and someone we want to develop with.”

Swansea go into the final day of the regular season 15th in the Championship table.

The loss to Forest was the side’s first defeat in 10 league games, giving optimism for the season ahead.

But Martin’s side have also not won in their last five matches so will be hoping to end the campaign on a high note as they prepare to face QPR on the final day of the season on May 7.

The Verdict

Using the final weeks of the season to bring in some young players is a strong move by Martin.

Giving someone like Congreve a chance in a pressure-free environment will help ease him into senior football, which should be very beneficial for his development.

Unfortunately, Forest are utterly rampant at the moment and still have everything to play for.

This weekend’s clash with QPR should offer a tamer atmosphere for a young player to step into, which is why it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see Congreve, or even other youngsters, appear again.