Planet Swans ArchivesSwans defender Dennis Lawrence says he could be ready for a break tomorrow as Roberto gets set to rotate his side once more for the FA Cup.
Roberto was criticised for many changes ahead of the first round victory at Billericay but is expected to stick by that policy for the second round game at Horsham – a match that will be screened live on Sky Sports.
And 33 year old defender Dennis Lawrence says he will be more than happy to sit the game out but will report happily for duty if called upon by his manager. Lawrence has been widely criticised this season by supporters but has been an ever present in the league as the Swans have risen to the top of the table with just 16 goals conceded in their 17 games to date.
Alan Tate is almost certain to come into the side for Friday’s game – a position he will keep thanks to the suspension that Garry Monk will sit out on Tuesday night.
“As players you want to play every game, but when you get to a certain age you obviously can’t do that,” Lawrence told the Western Mail
“Every now and again you’ve got to have a little break, but the important thing is we’ve got players capable of coming in and doing a job – whether it’s the league or the cup.
“If the manager calls on me, I’ll be ready to play. But it’s up to him to decide who he’s going to play in order to get the best result for Swansea City.
“I’m sure whoever he puts in place will do a professional job because that’s the squad we’ve got at the club.
“I wouldn’t say the FA Cup’s been good to me, we didn’t get any good scalps when I was at Wrexham,” he said. “The best run I’ve had was with Swansea last season beating Sheffield United, and we want to do that again because the FA Cup is the prestige cup tournament in the UK.
“They are going to be up for the game. It’s live on Sky, so we know we are going to be in for a battle,” said Lawrence.
“But I believe that if we approach the game in the right way then we will get the job done.
“For us, it’s great to be live on Sky, we’re playing in front of the whole country and it’s a chance to show what we can do.
“But it’s still a game of football and we’ve got to be well-prepared because we know it’s not going to be easy.
“In the FA Cup, non-league, league, Championship or Premiership it doesn’t matter because anything can happen.
“We will be going into the game in a positive frame of mind on the back end of the Hartlepool result,” he said.
“As a professional team, we’ve got to go there and do what we do best – play football. If we go there with the right approach and attitude, I believe the result will take care of itself.”
