SWANSEA City thought they had heard the last of Neil Warnock's not-so- dulcet tones this season.

And they weren't disappointed.

A manager who splits opinion, Warnock is revered by some and reviled by others.

It is fair to say the majority at the Liberty Stadium fall into the latter category.

"We are going to have to listen to Mr Warnock again," Garry Monk grumbles.

Swansea have already come up against the former Crystal Palace manager twice during this campaign, first in a goalless draw at the Liberty in December and then when Paulo Sousa's team edged a tight contest at Selhurst Park just over six weeks ago.

The game in London was laced with lip after Sousa upset Palace in the build-up by suggesting that they should be relegated as a result of their financial troubles.

Warnock's response was to pin an article carrying Sousa's comments on the away dressing room door, then to pile into the Portuguese during his post-match press conference.

Warnock suggested his opposite number ought to "shut up".

It seems Swansea would like to see the now Queens Park Rangers boss do likewise come kick-off time.

"In fairness, Warnock's record speaks for itself," Monk says.

"He does well trying to get teams promoted and, after what's happened at QPR in recent times, he is probably a good appointment for them.

"He seems to get the best out of his players and, after all the talk of managers being dictated to at QPR, I don't think there will be anything like that with him around.

"I think he will do well there because of his character, but having to listen to him as an opposition player is no fun.

"He basically tries to moan about everything that happens in the game for 90 minutes.

"I guess he thinks that if he appeals enough and shouts enough, he will get what he wants in the end.

"We saw it at Palace last month. He moaned at the ref throughout the whole game — he was chatting to him at half-time trying to put pressure on him.

"That's his style and we just have to hope that we get a strong referee tomorrow. If we get that, we feel confident relying on our football."

Cambridgeshire's Kevin Wright gets the job of keeping control this weekend and, Swansea hope, of getting all the big calls right.

Sousa's players are feeling hard done by enough already without anything else going against them, Warnock-inspired or otherwise.

"At Palace, we couldn't hear their players, all we could hear was him," Monk adds. "It's constant with him, but we just have to deal with that and not rely on referees.

"We have to try to make sure our performance is right because that's all we can really control."

The Warnock factor has made Sousa especially keen for success on a ground where he would have been hungry to impress regardless of the latest name in the home dugout.

But for the players a trip to Loftus Road is not really about their manager's return to his one previous British club, it is about flushing the frustration of last Tuesday night out of the system.

"Losing to West Brom was a disappointment because I felt that if anyone was pushing for a win it was us," Monk suggests.

"They set out like they were playing for a point and they never really threatened until the penalty.

Killed

"Once again a decision has killed us, but we just have to bounce back as we have done in the past."

The Albion reverse, Swansea's captain accepts, leaves the top two looking like "a bit of a stretch" for Sousa's team. But easing their pain in the last couple of days has been the realisation that the play-offs, and perhaps the Premier League, still beckon.

"We are in a great position," Monk stresses.

"We were hoping to close the gap on West Brom and we were disappointed that it didn't work out. But what we have to do now is make sure we stay where we are.

"QPR is going to be a tough because they have picked up under Warnock, and Blackpool next Tuesday is another tricky trip. But we are hard to beat these days and we're confident that we'll give anyone a game."

There are further demand- ing fixtures lurking, with visits to Cardiff, Bristol City and Sheffield United still ahead.

Swansea's four remaining home games look a little less taxing on paper, and it could be on their own patch that they take greater strides to the finishing line.

Monk reckons four wins will probably clinch a top-six spot, and that five would definitely do it.

Either tally is achievable for a team who have lost so rarely since an awkward start to the league campaign.

And Monk confirms that unlike a couple of seasons ago, Swansea are planning for overtime.

Holiday

"I remember when we won League One, Jason (Scotland) had booked a holiday for May in November," he says with a smile.

"Nobody has done anything like that this time around.

"We're all hoping the first chance we get to go away is at the beginning of June."