Swans Boss Roberto Martinez has praised Joe Allen for his match turning performance.

Swansea City manager Roberto Martinez has heaped praise on midfielder Joe Allen after his match turning performance last night.

Allen who has spent some time on loan at Blue Square Premier side Wrexham on loan this season came off the bench in the second half of the 2-2 draw against Barnsley. Singling out his mature performance yesterday, Martinez believes that the 18 year old has improved since his début against Blackpool in the 2006/07 season as he told the BBC, he said "Joe was the catalyst, he showed a lot of maturity and wanted to affect the game when he came on and that is a huge strength for a young player. He dictated with some of his play and passing. He has taken his technical ability to a different level since I gave him his début, he has become a different player."

Even the teenager himself has been deeply flattered by the praise put on him from both manager and fans, he said,"It is flattering to hear people say I inspired the comeback. I think everyone played better towards the end of the game because when we went two goals down, the pressure was off us."

With his experience in the Welsh U-21's under his belt, Allen could play an ever increasing role as Martinez looks to his fringe players to put in good performances but the Carmarthen born midfielder thinks that it was a pivotal move to go out on loan to the Dragons.

"The Swansea squad is so strong, games were difficult to come by here. So I thought it would be a good experience to go to Wrexham and their coaches helped me a lot and I'm grateful for that."

Allen is expected to feature on the bench this coming Saturday as the Swans play host to Sheffield United.

Photo: Action Images

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