Russell Martin was clear last night when he spoke after the Stoke game that the players simply had to recover from the disappointment of the defeat and ensure that they do everything right in the build up to Sunday’s clash with Bristol City.<\/p>\n
Martin looked very downbeat as he spoke to Swans TV after the game and talked about how preparation for Sunday started there and then with the Swans heading to St George’s Park overnight, home of the England’s national football teams.<\/p>\n
The venue provides 14 outdoor pitches, one of which is a complete replica of the Wembley surface together with a full sized indoor pitch along with a suite of rehabilitation and sports science areas.\u00a0 \u00a0Martin referred to the Swans recovery being key to the start of those plans for Sunday where he expects a top quality atmosphere for the relatively local visit of Bristol City to SA1.<\/p>\n
Despite the nature of the defeat, the Swans boss was firm in his belief that his team could bounce back well but he also emphasised the need for them to recover properly ahead of the game and do all the right things on and off the training pitches in the lead up to the game.<\/p>\n
“It’s a brilliant group of players in terms of character and what they are about.\u00a0 Hopefully we will recover well tonight, tomorrow morning and get ready for Sunday,” said Martin.<\/p>\n
“We cannot be here every Tuesday making excuses.\u00a0 \u00a0I said to them what they eat, how they sleep, what they drink, how they train, how they recover at Fairwood, how they recover tomorrow at St George’s Park – everything matters.<\/p>\n
“Tonight we have come up against a physical very athletic team and that has been our downfall too many times this season.\u00a0 That is what happens when you inherit a squad late on, we are always playing catch up.”<\/p>\n