Scotland Keen To Avoid Cup Hangover

And the Swansea City striker is only too keen to avoid a cup hangover similar to the one that hit his team back in September.

Four days after they defeated Cardiff in the Carling Cup, the Swans travelled to Reading and were beaten 4-0 in probably their worst display of the season.   Scotland believes that they have learned lessons from that and despite the obvious high that followed last Saturday’s win at Portsmouth, there will be no cup hangover this time around.

“We didn’t start properly at Reading after the Cardiff game,” recalls Scotland in the Evening Post.

“By the time we’d got going, we were 3-0 down.

“That’s a lesson we have to learn now.

“We have to get going against Preston from the off.

“The gaffer may change things round, he may feel other people can come and do a job for the team, and the great thing is that he has plenty of options.

“People like Andrea Orlandi and Gorka Pintado have come on in the last couple of games and shown what they can do, so he may want to start with them.

“But whether he changes it or not, we know we need to start right because it’s a big game for us.

“Don’t forget the assists,” Scotland added after being asked about his current scoring run and his 13 goal tally for the season.

“It’s going well for me at the moment — I don’t think I can ask for anything more in my first season in the Championship.

“It was a great result for us,” reckons Scotland.

“We didn’t just win, we competed with a Premier League team — the cup holders — and we played good football.

“It was a big stage for us going to Portsmouth.

“Most of us haven’t even played in the Championship before, never mind the Premier League, and going there was about seeing where we are as a club.

“I think we showed we are a good side because everybody did well.

“We got a result we deserved, which is something we haven’t always done in the league this season, and that’s a big statement.

“A few people have said that we are a good team, but we are trying to get better.

“Fair play to the lads, the feeling in the dressing room is that we can improve

“The gaffer is always trying to spur us on and no-one is prepared to settle for what we’ve got.”