Chairboys striker Alex Samuel is ready to help his Wycombe teammates defeat his boyhood club.
The former Swansea City youth team player is yet to get any action for Gareth Ainsworth’s side in the Championship this season, but he is prepared to be patient in order to get his chance.
The Welsh forward was at the Swans for five years between 2012 and 2017, but never made a first-team appearance for the club.
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Speaking ahead of today’s match, the 25-year-old said: “A big part of being a footballer is being patient and waiting for the opportunity.
“If it is this weekend, then I am ready.
“I’ve made sure during the off-season that I was ready and in every way I am ready.”
A former mascot for the club, Samuel was leading the teams out for Swansea’s game against Hull City in 2002/03 season, a game which saved the Swans from relegation out of the Football League.
A 4-2 victory at the Vetch Field was enough for the Welsh side to stay up, and within eight years, the club would be gracing the Premier League, winning the League Cup and playing in Europe.
However, after a disastrous 2017/18 season, which saw them lose 21 of their 38 league matches, the Swans were relegated back to the Championship after a seven year stay in the top-flight.
Samuel continued: “I have such vivid memories of that game [vs Hull].
“At half-time they do a penalty shootout for the kids where they choose one boy to run from the halfway line to the penalty spot, Cyril the Swan, Swansea’s mascot, was in goal and I was the one running all the way down the pitch.
“The fans were cheering, and I scored.
“It was like I had scored a goal in the league - it was a moment I’ll never forget and the noise was incredible.
“I knew back then how massive that game was, so to be a part of that day was amazing.
“And as a Swansea fan, to see them rise to where they went and to be a part of that was amazing, so I have a lot of fond memories of Swansea.
“I remember walking out with Roberto Martinez and Lee Trundle and just to have that moment walking out as a young boy, seeing the lights and the fans 100 per cent made me think ‘this is what I want to do’.”
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However, he is now firmly in the Wycombe corner, and insists that he would love nothing more than to score against his boyhood club.
He added: “It would be incredible to play against them but my heart is now with Wycombe.
“I want to get the first Championship goal so there is a lot at stake.
“If I’m scoring, I’m celebrating there is no doubt about that.”
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