Martinez impressed by Swansea

Martinez impressed by Swansea

Published Aug. 21, 2011 3:15 p.m. ET

Martinez received a good reception as he made his first return to south Wales since leaving for the DW Stadium in 2009, and saw his side pushed hard during an opening hour where the hosts were on top. Swansea's familiar passing style crafted chances for Danny Graham, Scott Sinclair and Wayne Routledge as Wigan sat back and attempted to soak up the pressure, but the hosts' failure to capitalise almost proved costly. Brendan Rodgers' side were indebted to the agility of Michel Vorm, who made a wonderful save low to his right to deny Latics midfielder Ben Watson from the spot after Ashley Williams had felled former Swan Jordi Gomez in the 73rd minute. Gomez and Victor Moses struck the woodwork for the visitors as they finished strongly, and while Martinez was frustrated not to have taken all three points, he saw enough to suggest that Swansea will cause sides trouble during their maiden Premier League campaign. The Spaniard said: "Their team works really well, they have a great cohesion and they were so, so arrogant on the ball, which is probably the biggest strength you can have in football, and it was great to see. "That is a team that is going to go from strength to strength. Brendan Rodgers is going to get this team competitive in the Premier League and it was great to see they are not scared at all. "They are ready for the challenge and they are going to have a massive say this season, I have no doubt about that. "I know that if teams don't pay respect to Swansea they will get hurt, that is quite clear, which is why Swansea will be successful this campaign. "The transitional play they have where they leave Nathan Dyer and Scott Sinclair in one-on-one situations means they are going to be a real threat." But the 38-year-old could not hide his disappointment that he had not left his former club with three points, despite being pleased with the performance. "It was about playing 90 minutes in stages," he said. "We showed good concentration in the first half and then we opened up in the second half, and on another day we would have taken at least one of the chances we had with the penalty, hitting the bar and the post. "I was pleased with the manner in which we handled the occasion. To play away from home like that in the circumstances we should have had the three points." Rodgers, meanwhile, was delighted by Swansea's display as they secured a first point of the season in the first Premier League game played outside England, but was left to rue their inability to take the chances that came their way. But the Northern Irishman believes record signing Graham is close to opening his account for the season and feels his squad as a whole now believe they belong in the Premier League. "Danny is a great reference for this team," he said on Saturday. "He leads the line really well, his touch is terrific and he just needed something to drop for him. "He works very hard for the team, whether he scores or not he gives the maximum intensity and he will get his goal very soon. "Monday (against Manchester City) was a dream and the dream became the reality, and what we have seen is the belief hitting on to the players. The next step is to go on and achieve. "The reality has set in that we are a Premier League club. We are fighting to stay in the league and for half the game on Monday we showed we can compete at that level, and today we played some terrific football and were just missing that touch in the final third."

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