It's taken a little bit of Latino passion, but Tom Butler is firmly back in love with the beautiful game.

There was a time when the Irishman had had his fill of football, a player of promise losing his appetite for the game after being starved of chances.

But after taking the long trip from the North East to South Wales, the romance is back for Butler.

The Dublin-born midfielder started life as a YTS at Sunderland, tipped for the top with Premier League and even international appearances following.

But after making just 16 starts in six years, the top-flight dream slowly turned into a bit of a nightmare for the wideman.

"You can be at a Premier League team and not be playing or anywhere near the squad, so what good is that?" asks Butler, now 26 and in his best form for Swansea since he arrived here last summer. "There's players at 25 or 26 who may be able to go around calling themselves Premier League players but they have 20 appearances in 8 years or something apart from reserves, just waiting for their chance.

"It was a bit like that for me and it can make you very unhappy. However good you are, you know with the money in football they could spend a few million and put yet another player in front of you.

"That's not a problem because that happens and it's fair enough. But you do fall out of love with the game a little bit, you get very down and depressed. You're coming in and training but it feels like it's for nothing because everyone hopes they get the chance but when there's £9m players in front of you there's not much opportunity there.

"You have everything done for you, play in wonderful environments and I still have those memories that I wouldn't change.

"But I was at a stage where I wasn't happy there for about a year - I wasn't playing, the team was relegated, things were going bad for me and I was thinking I need to a new lease of life. I didn't care where it was but I knew I needed to be playing football every week at competitive level instead of reserves to find rediscover that challenge and get that hunger back."

Butler decided to find that challenge at first Dunfermline, then Hartlepool before Kenny Jackett brought him to the Liberty at the start of last season on a two year deal.

It didn't start brilliantly for Butler, the team's disappointing start to the season not doing him any favours to add to constant injury problems that hampered his hopes of regular starting spots.

But slowly, his career change has put a smile back on Butler's face. Now he just wishes he did it sooner.

"When I went to Dunfermline and Hartlepool, of course it was a big step away from Premier, but I got that experience never would have had at Sunderland," he admits

"Still, I should have done it a lot younger - certainly if I had my time again I would have got out sooner just to be playing games and get that experience earlier.

"At Sunderland it got to a stage where I was playing six months in the reserves and seeing nothing at the end of it,

"As a young player have a lot going for you but if you're not playing competitively then your progress just stops and you're left waiting. I waited for a long time and I should have made a career choice to get out and play elsewhere."

Having dropped down, Swansea appealed as a step back in the right direction as the softly-spoken flyer found comparisons with the club he earned his big break with.

"I could definitely see the resemblance to Sunderland when I first looked into Swansea," he says. "When I was in the youth at Sunderland the club was aiming to get back to the top; they had this huge following, a new stadium and a team moving in the right direction.

"In terms of potential I knew Swansea would be a good move because I had seen what had happened to Sunderland as a club. I talked about it with my agent talked at the time and we could see it would be a good club to join because of the ambition and the desire to progress.

"I have to say the support for a League One club did surprise me when I saw it for myself and now, although potential has been talked about for a long time here, the momentum is really gathering. It's safe to say that I'm a lot happier with my lot now."

Momentum is a key word for Butler; his greater opportunities under Martinez than the manager who actually signed him allowing him to flourish with four goals this season already.

Aside from the out-of-the-blue brace that helped dump then-Premiership Sheffield United out of the FA Cup, highlights were few and far between in his first year.

But with a continental coach has come confidence, and a spring in the Dubliner's step.

"I think it's fair to say I've had a mixed time here," he admits. "But I think I'm probably enjoying my best spell over this season in terms of form.

"Last year I was in and out of the team all the time and when that happens you can't get any momentum

"It's always tough for players when they join a new club and to add to that I suffered with acouple of injuries here and there so I didn't really get going at all.

"But new manger has come in and we all seem to get more of a chance so I've been able to find that little bit of consistency."

Butler could have well feared for his future over the summer even with a year left to run on his contract, new managers often looking to shake things up.

But a sit-down with Martinez ended with Butler receiving the reassurances he needed from his new boss that he would get his opportunities.

And Butler says the manager has been as good as his word.

"There's always a doubt in yourself when a new manager comes in but Roberto has that honesty that you respect," he says.

"You don't mind if a manager doesn't fancy you because that's the way of the world. But with Roberto he will tell you straight and that's the relationship with a manager you want rather than just coming in and showing up, not knowing where you stand.

"Everyone knows exactly where they are with Roberto and it's just one of the many good traits he has.

"Even if you don't start every week you know you have that chance. It's good to have a manager with top people skills and who uses his commons sense to rotate things very well when there's a lot of games.

"I've had a lot of managers in the past and his man-management skills are as good as anyone.

"He speaks to everyone and treats them well. You respect a manager like that, if he speaks to you when you're not in the team.

"Even players not in the squad are being kept happy because the manager has time for them, he's always encouraging them, even if they're not playing.

"He can sense tiredness in people and take them out at the right times to freshen things up and there's no surprise we've been successful so far this year simply by the way he's managed the players."

Little wonder, then, Butler is hoping he can extend his Swansea stay at the end of the season as one of the several Liberty stars out of contract come June.

Even though he still has had to wait in reserve at times this year, Butler showed he can fight for a space when he kept Andy Robinson benched for a spell earlier in the campaign.

And with the squad effort keeping everyone happy, Butler sees no reason why his love affair at the Liberty has to end in promotion heartbreak.

"There's a winning mentality here that you can't buy with all the millions of the Premiership," he insists. "There's a good blend in terms of age and everyone is there for each other. Last year we'd be 1-0 up but end up losing 2-1 and towards the end you could feel the loss of belief, but now we're in games and we now we can get through it with that professionalism and experience.

"The fans got a taste of the bigger things when we played Leeds here and even the guys who've played at a higher level felt what it could be like if we achieve what we want here; it could be sign of things to come."