The Swans will jet out after hopefully securing their advantage at the top of league one and will return on Wednesday – ahead of a home double header against Millwall and Tranmere. And, as well as the rare break from action they will watch the Catalan giants in action both on the training pitch and against Celtic in the second leg of their Champions League clash.
The Swans have managed to secure 40 tickets for the glamour tie which sees Barcelona leading 3-2 from the opening leg and Roberto admits that it wasn’t easy with demand so high
“I can guarantee you it’s not easy to get 40 tickets for these games, we had to make a few phone calls.
“But it’s a great opportunity for the boys to enjoy themselves and learn by watching Barcelona play.
“The easiest lesson you can get is by watching other teams play.
“The way Barcelona play at home is a fantastic lesson tactically – there’s nothing better really – and something we can all take on board.
“Opportunities like this don’t come too often with the number of games we have but, as well as watching the Celtic game, it’s a huge psychological motivation to see these great players work and train.
“They’ll also realise that the Barcelona players are human and in a way realise they are not far away from that standard.
“What I would say is why shouldn’t they think of playing at that standard? If I’m honest, the majority of the squad should have that aim.
“We’ve got a very young squad apart from a couple of individuals that have had great careers, but for the rest it should be a great motivation.
“We’ve got a good relationship with Barcelona and Espanyol and we try to use that to work on tactical and technical aspects of the game,” said Martinez.
“It is a different game here to the one in Spain but we have done some of the things you see there this season, especially at home.
“We’ve shown that you can bring in different aspects and be successful in doing that.
“We’ll train at Espanyol’s facilities and play a game there against their B side. Then we’ll have a full 24 hours recovery and hydrotherapy sessions.
“I feel the aquatonic treatments are what the boys need at the moment to make sure they are ready for the last eight weeks of the season.
“We have had such a hectic period since New Year’s Day, too many games to have that consistency we always demand of the players.
“This is the only period that we don’t have a midweek game, so it’s ideal to recharge the batteries of the players and find different scenery to work on different tactical situations.”
