Planet Swans ArchivesMichael Laudrup says Swansea City supporters can dream of a trip to Wembley but he won’t let cup success affect their Premier League campaign.
Swansea progressed to the quarter-finals of the league cup for the first time in their history after beating Liverpool but Laudrup is refusing to get carried away with the victory.
A home tie with Middlesbrough in the next round has given Swansea the chance to mount a serious challenge for the Capital One Cup this season.
But with a home clash with European champions Chelsea at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow, Swans boss Laudrup has quickly turned his attention back to their league form.
“It was also the first time beating one of the big clubs on their own pitch so that’s a great achievement as well.
“But now we have to put that to the back of our minds until December and don’t start talking about Wembley.
“The fans can have their dreams that it would be nice to go there, I understand that but before that we have seven league games, including some very important ones.
“For the supporters I understand this is history and it’s very special. I try to understand that as well.
“That’s why the cup is fantastic and that’s why I said before the Barnsley game the cup is important because it gives you the chance to feel the success.
“The fans can dream about Wembley and the final, we can’t. We have to focus on the league now.”
Laudrup played a near full-strength side for Wednesday night’s game with only four changes from the side who lost 1-0 at Manchester City, with two of the changes being enforced because of an injury to goalkeeper Michel Vorm and the suspension of Angel Rangel.
Last season under Brendan Rodgers a much-changed Swansea side were dumped out of the league cup at Shrewsbury as they focussed on maintaining their place in the Premier League.
The league remains the top priority for Swansea this season but Laudrup has always stated his desire to do well in the cup competitions.
Chairman Huw Jenkins praised Laudrup and his side following their win over Liverpool and former manager Brendan Rodgers, who the Dane replaced this summer.
Jenkins said: “We are taking the cup seriously. It’s about keeping momentum.
“The boys have started playing well and we have to make sure we keep getting results and building confidence which will help everybody.
“It’s great to be in the quarter-finals for the first time, but it’s great for our manager as well.
“Taking over and coming in as he did was a difficult task.
“We’d love to have a trip to Wembley. But we can’t afford to forget the most important thing which is making sure we keep winning in the Premier League.”
Swansea avoided top flight rivals Arsenal, Chelsea, Norwich and Aston Villa in the quarter-final draw as they secured their first home tie since the second round win over Barnsley.
With Norwich and Villa meeting in the next round and Chelsea and Arsenal tasked with tricky away fixtures at Leeds United and Bradford, there’s no question the draw has fallen in Swansea’s favour.
But Laudrup insists Middlesbrough won’t be an easy tie having booked their place in the quarter-final with an impressive 1-0 win at North East rivals Sunderland on Tuesday night and Tony Mowbray’s side have been in excellent form in recent weeks.
Boro are unbeaten in six games in all competitions and currently sit third in the Championship behind Cardiff and Leicester.
Laudrup said: “It (the league cup) is the shortest way to a final because you play only five games and you can be in the final.
“The winner of league cup will be going into the Europa League so there’s another bonus at the end of the competition and that’s why it’s very important for a club like us.
“I’m pleased we are at home.
“The last two games have been long trips away so the crowd deserve a home quarter-final.
“But there are lots of games before then that are very important.
“We have seven games where we need to make sure we pick up some points because then it is only three until the halfway stage and then we can look at where we are.
“We know that we need to have a certain number of points to make sure we don’t suffer so much in the second half of the season.”
Laudrup was delighted with Swansea’s performance in the 3-1 win over Liverpool as they dominated Rodgers’ lacklustre side.
Swansea took the lead through Chico Flores in the first half and goals from Nathan Dyer and Jonathan de Guzman sealed the win in the second period.
Laudrup added: “The result is always the most important thing but the performance was excellent. To go face-to-face without fear against Liverpool at Anfield is great for this club.”
