Dyer Ready For United Challenge

Nathan Dyer admits that he was full of admiration for the Man Utd wiremen as he was growing up but is now ready to bring down the Champions at the Liberty

Andrei Kanchelskis and Ryan Giggs were providing the width for United in the mid 1990s as Dyer made his first steps on the football ladder and having played with one (Kanchelskis) he could come up against the other tomorrow (Giggs) as the Champions arrive in town.

Dyer told the Evening Post “Even going back to the likes of Kanchelskis through the years, I’ve been growing up watching these players

“And then you watch the new kids on the block and try to adapt what they do to your game.

“I’ve been watching Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, and you can only better yourself by watching the best.

“Kanchelskis was a great winger, an out and out winger.

“I played with him at Southampton. When he went there I was still quite young, but I played with him a few times.

“It was quite mad to have a player who’d played for Manchester United at the club.

“I saw Nani before he came to England and I thought he was a great winger and he’s proven that now,” Dyer adds.

“United have so much ability throughout the squad that you couldn’t just look at one.

“You can take things from defenders, midfielders, wingers, strikers and put it into your own game.

“So it’s not just wingers I look at.

“Nani’s getting better and better. He’s a great player.

“And then you’ve got players like Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov who can also do damage.

“When I was younger I remember my mum used to like Bryan Robson and I grew up watching all of them.

“Ronaldo, when he was at United, was my favourite, but I loved them as a team growing up.

“There won’t be any divided loyalties at all. I’ve got 100 per cent loyalty to Swansea.

“If we got the win the whole city would probably be out partying on the roadsides.

“It would be a great achievement for the club.

“I’ve had a few messages from people saying they watched the team in Division Three, and to get where we are now is a great occasion for them as well as us.

“I haven’t really taken any notice of it. It’s been far from my mind,” he says.

“It’s nice to get mentioned but I feel I’ve got a lot of improvement to make before I can start thinking I’ve got a chance of getting in the England squad.

“It is a burning ambition. Getting into the Premier League was an ambition and getting into the England side would be a great achievement for me.

“I think being in the Championship it’s ten times harder to get into the England team.

“A lot of people do make moves and go to teams where they can get selected.

“For me it was just about improving myself as a player and being at Swansea has been amazing for me.

“I’ve been able to play the way I love to play and I’ve been improving with a great manager who’s making me a better player day by day.

“Other players have been playing in the Premier League for a number of years and they’ve got vast experience.

“We want to stay up first and foremost, and then it’s individual performances that we want to improve on.

“We’ve had that belief for two years now, that we’re Premier League standard the way we play football,” Dyer says.

“We’re in the Premier League now and playing some good football against some great players.

“Playing against some of the best players in the world is a great achievement. It’s a big step up from the Championship.

“I feel that we’re growing into the Premier League and there’s a lot more to come from us.

“We’re used to being the underdog and the team that does OK.

“Even when we were in the top half last season not many people were talking about us.

“We’ve started playing against the bigger teams and doing well and that’s when people start taking note of you.

“Jamaica I could play for, and I’ve been told I could play for Japan,” he says.

“My dad’s dad was half Japanese.

“At the moment, I want to try to break into the England squad.

“I was born in England and I would love to play for England.

“I’m not the finished article and there’s a lot of areas I’m trying to improve.

“There’s a lot of things I’m working on. My left foot, my first touch, my defensive abilities and even attacking. I’m far from the finished article.”