Swansea City stars will aim to prove they are good enough for the top clubs
MICHAEL Laudrup insists his Swansea City stars will keep pushing until the last day of the season — to show they are good enough for the Premier League’s elite.
The pressure is off Swansea’s players after they reached the traditional safety mark of 40 points with victory over Newcastle United last weekend.
-
Laudrup
And with European qualification already in the bag thanks to their Capital One Cup success, Laudrup’s men could be excused for taking their foot off the pedal in the last couple of months of the campaign.
Swansea, however, must still face the top flight’s current top five before the curtain comes down on 2012-13.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013
And Laudrup reckons his players will be driven by a desire to impress the big boys.
“We are playing the top five teams between now and the end of the season and you always want to do well because maybe you want people to see you,” said the Swansea manager.
“Everyone has their own ambitions.
“And besides that, you know you have to do well against the good teams or they will just outplay you.”
Swansea go to West Brom — a side with European qualification ambitions — this weekend before back-to-back home games against London giants Spurs and Arsenal.
After that there are games against three clubs who are currently in the relegation mix — Norwich, Wigan and Southampton — before Swansea face a brutal run of fixtures against Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs.
Only Swansea’s final-day home game against Fulham, who seem destined for mid-table, looks like being a fixture which is guaranteed not to have significant consequences.
“We play the top teams, and we also play teams like Wigan who are fighting for their football life,” Laudrup added.
“Every game has its own story, so we have to play well and we have to be focused. There is always a lot to play for.
“No doubt we will lose some games along the way, and I can accept a loss.
“What I cannot accept is a performance like the one we had at Liverpool (last month).”
The narrow win over Newcastle continued Swansea’s impressive form, with only two league defeats coming in 11 league games since they were beaten at White Hart Lane in mid-December.
They now aim to stretch the good run against West Brom, a side they have beaten three times in three attempts since promotion from the Championship.
“I think the players will stay focused,” Laudrup stressed.
“The dangerous game for us was Newcastle immediately after Wembley.
“I can’t say there won’t be games where we don’t play well before the end of the season but, if we do lose, it won’t be because we are relaxed or we feel we’re already there.”
If reports are to be believed, Ashley Williams is already attracting interest from the top clubs ahead of the summer transfer window.
The defender has already been mentioned as a target for Liverpool, and now Arsenal are also said to be interested.
3 Comments
by CroJack
Thursday, March 07 2013, 1:35AM
“"We are already, amongst the best and have passed many established premier clubs,--what other team play the same attractive football as our Swans?"
Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Southampton, Everton.”
by seasolder
Wednesday, March 06 2013, 10:53PM
“We are already, amongst the best and have passed many established premier clubs,--what other team play the same attractive football as our Swans?--Which other team have a better pairing than Chico & Ash?-- Unfortunatly because our team are such a threat whoever we play, other clubs, will try and snap up many of our team on the cheap, offering fantastic wages, because they cannot produce their own. Time to consider Huw Jenkings as the shewdest chairman in the premier league”
by sbrain
Wednesday, March 06 2013, 4:51PM
“well done and well said M.L its good to hear the swans will compete all the way until the end of the season i hope brendan rodgers has the sack before the end of the season and leaves our team alone we know has no honour and cant be trusted so i hope liverpool finish out of the top eight and he fades back into unemployment before the swans saved his career go to a struggling team and we will see how good you are useless i bet..”