Gower seeking bonus at Bridge

Gower seeking bonus at Bridge

Published Sep. 23, 2011 3:15 p.m. ET

The Swans travel to London in buoyant mood having claimed their maiden Premier League win with a convincing 3-0 triumph over West Brom at the Liberty Stadium last weekend. But Brendan Rodgers' side face a very different prospect this weekend against the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Juan Mata and Fernando Torres. The trip to the Bridge is the latest testing away fixture for the south Wales club, having visited Manchester City and Arsenal in their first two games on the road. And while the Swans were unfortunate not to get a draw at the Emirates, being denied by a rare error from keeper Michel Vorm, Gower knows it is their home form that will ultimately determine whether they remain in the top flight, meaning any points picked up on the road against the division's top sides will provide a major boost. He said: "We know our home form is key to this season, we have to perform and get the majority of our points at home, but we need to go to Chelsea and play for the win, and if we can't get the win we need to try and get something from the game. "There is a league within a league and these top three or four teams are class teams. If you can pick up points from them it's a bonus point. That's what we are after, those bonus points. "We need to go there and play the way we can, and if we do that we know we will get a lot of ball, create chances and hopefully score some goals. "We have learned we can compete at this level. They are world class players, but they are only human. The Arsenal game showed that, we very unlucky not to come way with something. We can take heart from that, and the win on Saturday gave us even more confidence that we can dominate games in the Premier League. "It's nice to play these teams but it's also nice to get them out of the way. We will have our backs against the wall for the majority of the game on Saturday but if we can nick anything it will stand us in good stead for the rest of the season." It has been a frustrating start to the season for Gower. The former Southend player was an integral part of Swansea's promotion success last term, making 42 appearances in the Championship and the play-offs, but was left out of the starting line-up for the first four league games of this campaign. He was given his chance off the bench in the defeat to Arsenal due to Kemy Agustien's hamstring injury, and made his first Premier League start against West Brom. And the 32-year-old hopes he can do enough to cement a regular starting spot. "It was disappointing not to start the season. After the euphoria of the play-offs and playing a big part, to find myself out of the team was hard to take," he said. "But football changes quickly. I managed to get my chance earlier than I thought and we got the win on Saturday so hopefully the manager will not see fit to change anything and I will be playing again."

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