Planet Swans ArchivesThe Swansea City defender has seen all the words written about how the league is more important than the cup and Swansea would be better off out of the competition.
But he is happy for them to stay in it and keep on progressing “It’s understandable for some to think like that,” Rangel told the Western Mail.
“And then you see a lot of our rivals are having a weekend off where they can rest, but that is something we deal with.
“You can’t deny the next 18 games in the league are the most important in our lives because we are fighting to be in the top flight which is amazing.
“But that doesn’t mean Saturday cannot be important. As a footballer you want to play in every game and show in every game what you can do.
“You want to make it difficult for the manager to leave you out of that starting XI.
“And, as much as we are fighting for our lives in the league, big achievements in the cup can happen so quickly.
“You can’t get ahead of yourselves and it would be a massive mistake to look past Leyton Orient. But, at the same time, you know that the quarter-finals are not far away, perhaps even the semi-finals.
“There can be huge opportunities for the team and the club. The league is our focus, but you cannot forget what this competition means and the chance that is there for us.”
Incredibly a victory today would see the Swans progress to the 5th round for only the 7th time in over 65 years, the last being two years ago when they took Fulham to a replay before losing and missing the chance to take on Manchester United.
“That was a real shame,” Rangel added
“It is one of my regrets because we had beaten Portsmouth in the previous round and we knew we could have gone further.
“We should have beaten Fulham by a mile, but they scored with their only chance and then we blew it in the last 10 minutes of the replay. We could have gone on, but it shows you must take your chances.”
