Swansea City captain Matt Grimes has revealed the key changes that Steve Cooper has made to the side since his appointment in the summer, stating that there has been an emphasis on set pieces on the training field.

24-year-old Grimes, who has been at the South Wales club since 2015, only established himself as a first-team regular last season under Graham Potter, making 45 appearances for the Swans in the Championship in 2018-19.

The Exeter City academy graduate was made Swansea club captain this summer by Steve Cooper, and has played every minute for the side so far this campaign.

Speaking to WhoScored, Grimes reflected on what Cooper has changed tactically to improve Swansea's fortunes.

"The gaffer has obviously come in and addressed set plays in the summer because that was one of our biggest weaknesses," Grimes said.

"I’d say that has probably changed more than anything else and then it’s just how the staff and the manager set us up in defensive organisation."

Cooper quickly identified in the summer that set-pieces were one of Swansea's weaknesses last season, and addressing the problem has been a high priority for the Welshman.

Swansea conceded 24 goals from set pieces in 2018-19, more than any other side in the league, and scored 11 of their goals from them - which ranked the Swans 18th out of the 24 Championship sides.

The South Wales outfit are just one goal shy of that figure this term, scoring 10 set-piece goals in 2019-20, showing the vast improvement that has been made.

QUIZ: Can you remember Swansea's last 15 league positions?

The Verdict

It is clear from the statistics that Swansea have improved significantly at defending from set-pieces this season, as well as scoring from them. There is no doubt Steve Cooper has made the side better in both boxes.

The key thing for the Swans now is to build on their win over Middlesbrough last weekend at the Liberty Stadium. They take on Luton Town at Kenilworth Road tomorrow afternoon hoping to achieve back-to-back wins for the first time since the start of November.