Brendan – It Will Be Difficult To Stop Spurs

Brendan Rodgers admits his side face a very tough challenge this weekend in stopping Spurs

The Swans line up against 3rd placed Spurs at the Liberty Stadium looking to defend a decent home record as well as end one of their most memorable years on a very large high.

But Brendan knows that life will not be easy on the weekend against a Spurs side littered with top quality players including the ‘perfect’ Gareth Bale and Luca Modric.

“How do you stop Spurs? It’s very difficult,” Rodgers conceded in tonight’s Evening Post.

“They have two genuine world-class players, two players I consider to be perfect, in Luka Modric and Gareth Bale.

“Luka Modric is tactically, technically and mentally perfect. He just breezes through games because he is so good.

“And any one of the top clubs in the world would take Gareth Bale right now if he was available.

“He is right up there with the very best in the world. He is 6ft 2in, quick, strong, can play off both sides and is good in the air.

“He is an absolutely phenomenal talent and by all accounts a good lad too.

“The other thing with him is that he is improving all the time because he is playing alongside top players.

“He is certainly one of very few players who I would call world class.

“We’ve got a plan — we’re going to play five right-backs,” smiled Rodgers

“Spurs play with a front diamond — Emanuel Adebayor as the central striker, Modric behind him, Rafael van der Vaart coming from the right and Bale from the left,” Rodgers adds.

“The players all have the freedom to rotate, and they use their football intelligence to find the space.

“Bale has really developed that ability. When he first started to shine at Spurs he was an out-and-out winger, but then people started to get tight on him or put two or three players on him.

“They blocked his space, but he has learned to find the solution by going inside instead, as he did against Norwich.

“If teams then try to block his space there, he can go back on the outside again, and he has the pace to do damage.

“Russell Martin (the Norwich defender) is quick, but Bale just ran away from him.

“Spurs have been absolutely fantastic this season,” reckons Rodgers.

“They are one of the top sides in European football, but we are all excited about the game and I’m looking forward to seeing how my players get on against them.

“These games are why we arrived in this league in the first place, and we have played very well against the top sides this season.

“It’s a very tough game for us, but Spurs have watched us a lot this season because we have Steven Caulker and I know Harry will understand that we are performing very, very well at this level. I am sure they will understand that it will be a difficult game for them with our support and the momentum we have at home.

“We need to concentrate on how we play,” Rodgers says, “but of course we have to be aware as well.

“When you play against teams who have a lot of pace, you cannot be naive and defend with a high line up the pitch, because they will run into the grass behind you.

“We have to find ways of blocking space, then when we’ve got the ball we have to hurt teams.

“That’s a huge thing in this division — you have to take your chances when they come.”