Sports
Swansea boss reveals what Snoop Dogg said to the players after dramatic draw with Preston
American rapper Snoop Dogg expressed his delight after witnessing his Swansea City side secure a dramatic Championship draw against Preston, salvaging a point in the dying moments of the game.
Liam Cullen emerged as the hero, cancelling out Daniel Jebbison’s first-half strike with a fine header in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
The late equaliser extended Swansea’s unbeaten home run to nine games and provided a memorable first visit for the 54-year-old musician, who became a minority investor at the Welsh club in July.
Before kick-off, Snoop Dogg was greeted by an enthusiastic reception from Swansea fans during a seven-minute lap of honour, where he was met with the sight of twirling towels – a common spectacle in American sports.
Swansea boss Vitor Matos revealed the rapper’s positive reaction post-match. “After the game he came to the dressing room and spoke with the players,” Matos said.
“He’s someone that likes to be involved, not only with us but with the (United States) Olympic team as well. He loves sports, loves sports people. He loves the club, loves the city, and wants to be here. I think that’s all positive and he was really happy because he felt that the team had the right mentality. He felt that the team could push.”
The hard-fought point saw Swansea climb one place to 14th in the table, now eight points adrift of Wrexham, who currently occupy the final play-off spot.
Matos praised his team’s resilience, stating: “When you are losing you usually start having frustration, things not going the right way. But I think we didn’t have that and that was good to see.
“We always kept the momentum, even when we would miss a pass or there was a situation where things didn’t go in our way. But then we came back again with a good spell and we got a really good goal from Liam. So we got one point and let’s move on.”
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom, however, downplayed the celebrity occasion and the atmosphere generated by Snoop Dogg’s pre-match appearance.
Heckingbottom quipped that the only discernible difference from other Championship games was the “smell of illicit drugs”, a humorous nod to Snoop Dogg’s well-known public persona.
“It’s only different for people who are here every week, isn’t it?” Heckingbottom remarked.
“We don’t play at Swansea every week, so it’s no different for us. We go away to Ipswich the other week, they were at it, their fans were at it, and that was noise all game. I felt we kept everyone quiet here until the end.”
Preston now sit 10th, five points off a play-off position. Heckingbottom concluded: “I’m pleased with lots of things, pleased with the performance. I’m just upset with not taking three points.”