Roles reversed, but Carvalhal calls for same Swans attitude
CARLOS Carvalhal has told his Swansea City players to keep their feet firmly on the floor if they are to avoid their good start to life under his stewardship being undone at Notts County today.
The 52-year-old has lost just one of his six games in charge in all competitions, including the 1-0 triumph over Liverpool at the Liberty on Monday night.
That result – coming just 27 days after a 5-0 thrashing in the reverse fixture at Anfield – moved the Swans to within three points of Premier League safety and just six off 10thplaced Watford. It has provided a major lift in mood for both players and supporters after a miserable season to date.
January acquisitions are still needed before the transfer window closes on Wednesday night and one big result does not make a turnaround in fortunes a reality.
But, with some momentum to finally build on, Carvalhal knows that while there are no points on offer at Meadow Lane the chance to keep moving in the right direction has to be taken and the application and attitude of his players must be spot on.
“A result like beating Liverpool can be good lift, but it is important we stay with feet on the floor,” said the former Sheffield Wednesday manager.
“We must understand the reasons why we achieved a good result in the game and never lose this kind of commitment and connections we had to achieve that score.
“The win gives more confidence to the team and the faces are completely different, there are some smiles.
“I also appreciated the analysis of Slaven Bilic (as Sky Sports pundit) when he said even though the team is in a bad position they are still calm to play from the back and don’t put easy balls to attack.
“He knows as a manager this is not easy to do in this moment, because the people and the players are more nervous than usual. But we are moving the ball and playing with confidence and if you are calm, you don’t make mistakes.
“Now we go into the cup and these games are very hard, they are part of the tradition of the cup. But we’ll be ready for the game because we have analysed Notts County.
“They have different abilities to Liverpool, but we understand how they play and we know exactly what they must do.”
It is something of a role reversal for Carvalhal and Swansea. He had christened the Welsh club as David taking on Goliath ahead of the clash with Jurgen Klopp’s men, but they will be viewed as the clear favourites this weekend.
Notts County are having an excellent season and are currently on course for automatic promotion from League Two under the guidance of former West Ham and Newcastle midfielder Kevin Nolan.
It is also a squad with no shortage of experience. Former Swansea and Wales defender Richard Duffy is in their squad, as are former top-flight strikers Jon Stead and Shola Ameobi, and they will relish this opportunity.
Stead famously humbled Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea while at Bradford, while County dumped topflight Wigan and Sunderland out of this competition in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
And Carvalhal says he and his players have paid the Magpies every respect ahead of the last-32 meeting and that preparations have been no less intense than they were ahead of facing Liverpool.
“This Goliath is not as healthy as Liverpool, he was a little sick, but he is starting to move,” said Carvalhal.
“There is a difference between the sides and the competition but in training I can tell you we are not preparing differently.
“The way the team has to play means they will cause problems, they have caused surprises in the cups, it has happened often.
“These are different questions from a Premier League game and we have to find the answers. We will respect what the problems they will cause, if we do that we can give ourselves a big advantage.”
Carvalhal is boosted by having a fully-fit squad to choose from for the first time in his short tenure.
Tammy Abraham, Renato Sanches and Angel Rangel are all back in training after injuries and the three in contention for selection at Meadow Lane.
A number of changes are expected to be made, with the likes of Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Kyle Bartley and Tom Carroll all expected to be handed starts having been on the bench on Monday.
But Cavalhal suggested he will not take any risks with the fitness of Abraham, Sanches and Rangel, even though he is keen for them to get minutes under their belt before Premier League hostilities resume against Arsenal.
“I think we are clear of injuries, everyone is fit and ready to play,” he said.
“Some players may need a little more time, but everyone is training and ready to play on Saturday.
“We are focused, but it is something where we will not risk players as our prime target is to stay in the division.
“For the players, if they are at one per cent risk of injury they will not be involved.
“We will change players, we trust the whole squad, but we respect the competition and Notts County and we want to go to the next stages of it because we know just how much this competition matters in this country.
“When I was a child in Portugal I used to watch the final on black and white TV and it was one of very few games you would see on the television.
“It was special, I love football and I loved that game.”