TIME TO STICK TOGETHER
<M<IP B@:B# <M<IP >F8C# <M<IP >8D<# Lukasz calls for unity as Swans blow their tops
SWANSEA’S angry players have been ordered to stick together after a dressing room bust-up at Stoke.
Keeper Lukasz Fabianski reckons the Swans have let down under-pressure boss Paul Clement (inset) as they slumped to the bottom of the Premier League.
After defender Martin Olsson lifted the lid on a heated post-match row between Clement’s players, Fabianski said they must unite and back their boss.
“We are the ones who have to deliver on the pitch, but the guy who is punished most for it is always the manager,” said Fabianski.
“From my point of view, he really does a good job for us. He really tries to prepare us in the best way possible and then it’s up to us to deliver on the pitch.
“He showed us what the strengths were of the Stoke team and then we got beaten on those things.
“He can’t do anything about that. It’s difficult times for him because he’s trying his best but we, as a team, have to deliver.”
Former Stoke loan flop Wilfried Bony stunned Mark Hughes’ men by firing the Swans ahead after three minutes with his first Premier League goal for more than a year.
But after scoring for the first time in 430 minutes of action, Swansea were undone by first-half strikes from Xherdan Shaqiri and Mame Biram Diouf, prompting angry exchanges after the game.
“It was one of those days where some frustration came out in the dressing room, but it happens,” said Olsson. “It had to happen.
“We’re still behind each other, we’ve got to work hard. There’s some stuff we need to work on.
“Of course it gets a bit heated, but in a good way. We all need to wake up as a team and we need to run for each other, create chances, offensively, defensively, like the end of last season.”
Bony finished superbly from an Olsson cross but when Leroy Fer was bullied off the ball on 36 minutes, Shaqiri levelled from Joe Allen’s fine pass. More poor defending allowed Peter Crouch to flick on Ryan Shawcross’s long ball for Diouf, who got a rebound off Kyle Naughton before finishing. Returning Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland denied Swansea a late equaliser when he made a smart flying save to spare Shawcross an own-goal. The Stoke No.1 was back ahead of schedule from a broken finger. He is now aiming to become England’s first choice in time for next summer’s World Cup in Russia, after being backed by Stoke legend and 1966 winner Gordon Banks. “Gordon is amazing,” said Butland. “I speak to him every other week nearly. “He calls me up and we have a chat and when I speak to him he’s always got my corner. “He’s a great person to have on my side. “We have had chats about his England career and we’ve spoken about the World Cup back then. “But he is really eager to know what it’s like nowadays and what my routine is like.” STOKE (4-4-2): Butland 7; Zouma Shawcross 7, Martins Indi 7 (Wimme 52, 6), Pieters 7; Shaqiri 7, Fletcher 6 (Afellay 70, 6), ALLEN 8, Choupo-Moting 5 (Ramadan 70, 6); Crouch 6, Diouf 7. Subs: Grant, Berahino, Jese, Adam. UP NEXT: Tottenham (a), Premier League, Saturday. SWANSEA (4-3-1-2): Fabianski 6; Naughton 6, Van der Hoorn 5, Mawson 6, Olsson 6; Fer 5 (Sanches Ki 85) 6, Clucas 5 (Carroll 73); Ayew 5 (McBurnie 73); BONY 7, Abraham 6. Subs: Dyer, Nordfeldt, Routledge, UP Range NEXT: West Brom (h), Premier League, Saturday. Referee: Craig Pawson 8. YOUR TURN: Which striker scored twice for Stoke when they beat Swansea 3-1 at home last season?