South Wales Derby: Ollie Cooper hoping for victory against Cardiff to end 'surreal' week

• By ITV Wales journalist Saihaj Bir Singh Jaspal

As the build up to Wales' biggest domestic football match intensifies, both Cardiff and Swansea will be more desperate than ever for victory.

Ahead of Saturday's game, both managers have emphasised the scale of a fixture that has defined footballing superiority in the country for decades.

But amid all the chaos of the impending derby there is one person involved who will be hoping to cap off an "incredible" week.

Welsh football's two biggest clubs have been battling it out since 1912. Before last season, neither side had ever registered two league wins over the other in the same campaign.

Swansea broke that record after two convincing wins last year and they'll be hoping to do the same this year with a win on Saturday.

Cardiff however have a new man in control. Sabri Lamouchi has helped Cardiff push further away from the relegation zone and are in better form than the Swans.

In the pre-match press conferences, both managers highlighted the importance of a positive derby day result.

The Swans already have one up on Cardiff this year after beating them in October. 23 year-old midfielder, Ollie Cooper scored in that game, one highlight out of many so far this year.

Within the space of ten months Ollie Cooper has been on loan to League Two club Newport County, broken into Swansea's first team, scored in a South Wales derby and represented his country

It's quite a list considering that in the same time there's been three prime ministers, the death of the longest-reigning monarch in British history, and a World Cup in Qatar.

The latter with which he was involved in as a reserve.

It may be hard for many to believe, including the 23-year-old Swansea midfielder himself:

"If you said to me at the start of last season when I was on-loan at Newport, that I would make my debut for Wales and play consistently for Swansea I just don't think I would believe you," Cooper told ITV Wales.

It would have been harder for him to believe as a youth player who was told he "wasn't big enough" when trying to break in the tough and competitive world of professional football.

Cooper said: "It surprises me that when I was younger I was told I wasn't big enough because at that age you're not. You're going to grow you're going to mature.

"I always thought the fact that I was small helped me, it meant that I had to know how to move the ball, I had to know how to find space.

"I knew that if I got into a shoulder barge with someone they were going to win so I had to figure out other ways of competing that didn't revolve around my physical size which is still a big part of my game today," he said.

In a list of growing highlights, Cooper can't look past his Wales debut on Tuesday (March 28) against Latvia, even if it was only for a couple of minutes.

"It was amazing, it's something I've been looking forward to for a long, long time", the 23-year-old said.

"To finally get out there on the pitch in front of 32,000 people was an incredible moment and one I'll never forget."

The midfielder came on as a late subsititute for Aaron Ramsey, donning the number seven shirt for his country.

He lists Ramsey as one of a list of players that "he's looked up to and watched for so many years."

Cooper is hoping to make a similar impact on this Saturday's derby, as he did in October when his goal helped Swansea to a 2-0 win against Cardiff.

The son of former Cardiff City player Kevin Cooper, Ollie says a goal and a win this Saturday would be a perfect end to an "incredible week."

From the youth player who was told he was "too small" to make it as a professional to growing into the number seven shirt for Wales.

Cooper will be hoping he can add this Saturday to a week and year of many highlights.