Carvalhal urges Swansea to control their emotions
Carlos Carvalhal has urged his struggling Swansea City players to rediscover their “belief ” as they prepare to face Southampton in tonight’s all-important relegation showdown.
The Swansea manager said it was “not the time to scream” at his players, who have not won in seven Premier League games and host Southampton with both teams on 33 points ahead of the season’s final two fixtures.
Carvalhal has called on his players to have “emotional control” at the Liberty Stadium this evening. “We must do the proper things,” he said. “Not to make mistakes. This is the way. We must keep organised, we must be with confidence.”
Swansea have a goal difference of minus 26, compared to Southampton’s minus 19, but have a more favourable final fixture as they face relegated Stoke, while Southampton host Manchester City.
“I believe in myself, I believe in my players,” Carvalhal said. “My target is to try to get them to believe in themselves and believe in their colleagues. These are the things that we must do. “I would be talking in a completely different way if we had to win and had to wait for two or three results. This is something really bad. When it is in your hands to do it, let’s do it.”
Asked if tonight’s meeting was do or die, Carvalhal said: “It is the same for our opponents. All of us are in different circumstances. When we arrived, some of them had 10 or 12 points more than us. How many points have we recovered to be in this position?
“When we achieve this situation, you think you can do it. If you are asking if it is the most important game of my career, it is an important game.”