Burnley's Connor Roberts on top form as he discusses his love and affection for Swansea City
Connor Roberts has spoken of his deep affection for Swansea City as he prepares to do battle with his former club with Burnley.
The Welshman, a native of nearby Crynant, joined the Swans’ academy at the age of nine – spending 17 years with the club before joining Burnley in 2021.
A boyhood Swansea fan, Roberts still looks out for their results and hopes their fortunes can turn around after a couple of tough years.
But the defender will be fully focused on earning the Clarets all three points in their bid to topple the Championship’s top two.
Discussing his love for Swansea, Roberts said: “In my life, it’s the most important and best football club in existence.
“Obviously I left there after having a few really good seasons. I had the opportunity to leave before I did but it just wasn't the right time. When I did leave I left because it was Premier League football and it was financially beneficial for myself and my family.
“I’ll always have fond memories of there, as a place and as a football club. It’s brilliant.
“Just a little mention too, they’ve obviously not been fighting where they want to be the last couple of seasons, or especially the last couple of months, and that’s a little bit sad to see for myself as a Swansea fan, which I always will be.
“But hopefully they can steady the ship and get back to where they want to. But either way, I'll always support Swansea whether they're in the Conference or in the Champions League.”
The timing of this fixture falls kindly for Roberts, as he’ll be able to remain in Swansea after the game before he meets up with the Welsh national team - giving him a priceless opportunity to meet up with family and friends.
“Usually you wouldn't have time [to meet up with friends], but luckily for me it's fall on Saturday,” the right-back added.
“I go away with the national team next week, so we meet up in Cardiff, so back to God's country where the grass is green and life is beautiful.
“I play on Saturday, I get to go out with some of my mates on Saturday night for a little bit of food at the best restaurant in Swansea, ROK Mumbles, thank you, and then Sunday obviously meet up with the boys.”
The 29-year-old added: “I haven’t got any mates who I really played with when I was a kid at Swansea, to be honest, all my mates now were from the village I grew up in and a couple of them went to my school.
"Most of them all play rugby, so they’ve no clue whatsoever about football. Obviously they're rugby boys, so they're even more mental than me – imagine that!
“I was actually very good at rugby, better at rugby than football, but I wasn't big enough and obviously there’s more money in football, therefore we took this route.
"I always post personal photos on Facebook – yes, I still use Facebook – I post some photos every now and again, and I always kind of frame it with just a rugby boy from Crynant.
“What I've achieved in my life, in my career, I've got a beautiful family, and I've had a really good career, something that I could never imagine.
"When I was a kid, I've said this hundreds of times, but I wanted to play one game for Swansea City in any league, that’s all. Yet I managed to play in the Premier League for them, and then obviously I come here and I've done a lot more than that, so I'm very proud of where I come from and what I've done.
"I'm sure everyone in the village and all my mates are proud of me too, but they don't really blow smoke up my backside too much.”