CARLOS CARVALHAL’S VIEW...
CARLOS Carvalhal hailed Swansea City’s emphatic 4-1 victory over West Ham as “rock and roll football” as his side took another stride towards Premier League safety at the Liberty Stadium.
The Swans were dominant from the word go and got their just rewards as Ki Sung-yueng, Mike van der Hoorn, Andy King and Jordan Ayew all found the net, before Michail Antonio’s late consolation.
It was enough to move the Welsh club out of the bottom three, even going above the Hammers on goal difference into 13th, and register their biggest home win since October 2013. It also made it seven in a row in all competitions on home turf.
Swans boss Carvalhal felt his side had shown the sort of football he wants them to produce on a regular basis, as they dictated play from the off and made the visitors “dance to their tune”.
“It happened that we had rock and roll at the Liberty today,” said the Portuguese.
“Sometimes you dance to the music your opponents give out to you, such as when we played Liverpool and Arsenal. “But today, we put out our own music. It was rock and roll in the stadium.
“The performance was the best since I arrived, the one nearest to what I want in everything - defensive organisation, transitions, setpieces also.
“I am very happy with the win, but there is still a long path to go. We still have a lot of work to do.
“We played with high intensity. That’s why it took a while for Andy King and Andre Ayew to get ready. Sometimes it takes three or four weeks. Today, we played the way we train.”
It was an fine collective effort, with the Ayew brothers among those to impress as Jordan and Andre’s tireless work-rate and threat caused all manner of problems to a depleted West Ham rearguard.
Ki was another to stand out, but Carvalhal preferred to share the praise equally among his squad, describing them as a band of brothers.
When we win 4-1, I won’t talk about one player,” he said.
“We had two brothers on the pitch, but it looked as though we had 11 brothers on the field.
“We have a good commitment here and a good family. When you are feeling strong together it is a very positive feeling.
“But the concert today has finished, but there are others – maybe it will be opera or rock and roll next time, we will see.”