Planet Swans ArchivesRoberto Martinez
''To score 21 goals with still 13 games left speaks volumes of the season he's had.
''He holds the ball up really well and has a classy touch. Players like him don't come around too often.
''It was a great (team) performance. We knew we had to adapt to the way they play but I thought we created enough chances to put the game beyond doubt.
''I don't remember getting a result here in the last four years but I was pleased with the character the players showed.
''It was important to have a reaction for Monday's game and I thought the players reacted well.''
Andy Ritchie
"I'm disappointed because I thought we had enough pressure in the second-half to get back in the game, but it was the first-half performance that lost us the game; having said that, we should have come in at 0-0 as we have to defend corners better than that. I didn't think it was a great delivery in terms of height; it should have been headed away at the near post and then Robbie (Williams) has left his man at the far post.
"I'm sure that Roberto (Martinez, Swansea manager) would agree that this was a hard game for them; even in the first-half we had some good things that flashed across the box. However, I'm not convinced that we really wanted to score badly enough in the second-half. I thought that a challenge from Darren Pratley when Beckett was about to head the ball in epitomised how much they wanted to keep the ball out of their net and perhaps their desire was a little bit stronger than ours. Sometimes you really have to get stuck into challenges and perhaps hurt yourself and despite the pressure we exerted on them, I'm not sure that happened in the second-half.
"Swansea are among the best teams in the league and they showed that by the way that they passed the ball about in the first-half. It's good to play in a footballing game for once, although the conditions didn't make for a great spectacle at times. Our lads just have to grow up a little bit and they could still do that this season.
