'Frustrated' Swansea City star praised ahead of Portsmouth visit

Swansea City head coach Vitor Matos believes one of his players is showing the mentality needed by his squad ahead of their midweek trip to Portsmouth.

The Swans will provide the next opposition in Pompey’s push towards survival in the Championship and they will travel to Fratton Park looking to complete a league double over John Mousinho’s men after securing a 1-0 win on their home patch in the first meeting of the two side earlier this season. Liam Cullen got the only goal on that day and the 14-times capped Wales international has been in fine form ahead of Tuesday’s game after finding the net in two of his last three appearances.

Cullen came off the bench to help his side snatch a point in their 1-1 draw against Preston North End last month and he was at it again on Saturday as he scored with another late strike in their 2-0 home win against Stoke City. The versatile attacking midfielder has only made 14 starts from a possible 33 Championship fixtures this season - and Matos has admitted he would understand if Cullen was frustrated but hailed the mindset he has shown throughout the season.

He told BBC Sport: "He's a really good option. Of course, he's not always happy that he needs to come off the bench to score but he has a top mentality. He is a winner, he wants to compete, play, score, assist and be influential. He is one of the most important players in the squad, I'm just lucky to have him in my dressing room and I like him a lot.

"He's always frustrated because he always wants to make an impact, and he wants to make an impact if he has five minutes or 95. That's the mindset you need to have and I just love that, it's the mentality we want in the squad because it's a long, long season with short time between games."

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