Cotterill joined Swansea City this week and was on hand to make his debut at Newcastle yesterday with an encouraging performance despite the 3-0 final scoreline.

And he revealed his final thoughts on Sheffield United and their manager Kevin Blackwell when he said "He didn't give me a fair crack of the whip.  If he'd given me a run in the side I'm confident I would have done the business for him.

"I had a good run at the back end of last season when I played 15 or 16 games.   I produced some of the best football of my career and we got to the play off final.

"This season was different.  I was starting once in a blue moon and it's difficult to find any form when you're in that situation.

"I needed a decent run of games but the manager was judging me on one game.   Other players would have two or three bad games yet were still getting picked.  I was playing with zero confidence because I felt I was going to be dragged off if I made one mistake.

"It was obvious to me I wasn't one of Kevin Blackwell's favourites and it was time to move on.

"I came off the bench at Reading, scored and we won 3-1..  A week later I came off the bench against West Brom and scored a penalty near the end that got us a 2-2 draw.  After that I thought I was going to start the next game at Derby but I was on the bench again.   That's when I realised I wasn't in the managers plans.

"After I scored against West Brom he pulled me to one side and said I was doing really well and should be playing for Wales.  He wasn't picking me for his team yet he was saying I shoudl be playing for my country - that didn't make sense to me.

"Another time in training he said I was on fire and doing really well.   Then a few days before I joined up with Wales for the Scotland game he called me into his office and said I wasn't doing it this season.  I seemed to be in a no-win situation.

"A lot of Wales players - and some of them have played in the Premier League - couldn't believe I wasn't playing for Sheffield United.

"I need to settle down at one club now.  I'm 21 and Swansea is my fourth club - that's not good.

"I need to get my career back on track and that's why I joined Swansea.  I don't expect to walk straight into the team because they've had a great run and it would be unfair to drop anyone.  I've got to bide my time and take my chance when it comes."