“I am really pleased with Wayne, he is a great person to have at the club.
“He has conducted himself fantastically, he is enjoying his football and contributing to wins and points.
“He has been important for us. When you have a young squad looking to develop players you want experienced, good people around and Wayne is one of those.”
The words of Graham Potter about veteran star Wayne Routledge.
The 34-year-old had just scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Ipswich, the latest in a string of fine performances from the winger.
After the game, Routledge, an infrequent tweeter, posted the following on the social media site:
My team indeed. There is no question that he loves Swansea City Football Club.
Routledge could have been forgiven for staying clear from social media at points this season. Especially at the start of the campaign.
The senior statesman, along with Nathan Dyer and Luciano Narsingh, were deemed surplus to requirements by Potter early on in his tenure.
The Dutchman hasn't returned to favour - but the turnaround for Routledge and Dyer has been nothing short of remarkable.
The oldest member of the squad is showing the youngsters how it is done.
Coming back into the first-team fold in December - he scored two in two games - the former Tottenham and Crystal Palace man hasn't looked back since.
Frequently, other members of the squad have commented on Routledge's experience and impact on the group, even when he wasn't playing. Potter has called him "the perfect professional" at times this season and that has certainly played out.
A man of his age and stature within a club could easily throw his toys out of the pram if he weren't playing. Not Routledge.
After the game at Portman Road he spoke of Swansea "going in the right direction".
He said: “We’ve ground out to back-to-back wins and hopefully we can carry on for the rest of the season.
“We put pressure on ourselves, we are going in the right direction but that QPR game was a reality check that we are not there yet.
“We can play football, I think everyone knows we can play football, but you have to do the ugly bits as well.
What Graham Potter had to say about Swansea City's play-off hopes after Ipswich win
“The last two games we have had to do that. We had to come through eight added minutes in the last game to win, and there were six minutes here.
“So we are going in the right direction."
One direction he could be heading towards is Trevor Birch's office.
Routledge is out of contract this summer but there have been calls from the stands for a new deal to be awarded. That would not have been the case six months ago. That is testament to his performances and attitude in changing hearts and minds in SA1.
You can't help but feel that the likes of Daniel James, George Byers and Oli McBurnie have benefited from having him around. Indeed, McBurnie affectionately calls him "Pops". Labelling him a father-like figure is a bit tongue in cheek but the point stands. Experience counts, especially at this level and Swansea are in a difficult transitional period.
Many fans - and individuals in the media, including this writer - have been proved wrong by Routledge's renaissance. But there are some things you really don't mind being incorrect about.
Calls are growing for a contract extension - and they will only get louder as the summer approaches. If "hard medicine" is on the way, keeping Routledge for another year could be the spoonful of sugar to help it go down.
