...and we're starting to move on from the Liverpool debacle.
A quick scan of the papers and online, and it seems while the Swans are obviously still smarting from being brought back to earth with a bump at Anfield, there are some more positive noises coming out of SA1, with the attention now understandably turning to the small matter of the first major cup final in the clubs 100 seasons of existence.“Everyone is very excited around the city. We feel the excitement of the supporters. We understand how important this is to everyone. We know the Jack Army will be out in full force at Wembley, and to lift the trophy in front of them, well, it is something that will never leave our memory.
“But that is the feeling we want again this Sunday. We don’t want to be the team watching on as the opposition celebrate. We have experienced that winning feeling at Wembley before, and you can’t beat it. For sure, that gives us even more motivation to go on and win the final.” Angel Rangel
“If Swansea won the cup it would be a massive achievement, and it would be massive for me as well – the best of my career. You play football for the opportunity to win trophies and I haven’t yet had that, so this could be the last chance I get.
“I’ve never been to Wembley before, but I am really looking forward to it. I have grown up watching English football and finals at Wembley and you always want to play there. It would cap a good season for me, and it would be a great highlight in my career if we could go on and lift the trophy.” Gerhard TremmelIt seems the players are truly relishing this opportunity to write their names in the history books. On a broader note, the fact - pointed out by Malky Mackay (great surname) - that there has been a Welsh club in consecutive major cup finals truly is something to be proud of. When I was younger, the only realistic connection I could draw between winning the FA Cup, and Welsh football clubs, would have involved a Twin Town reference.
The excitement, as noted by the players, is palpable in and around Swansea, with everyone seemingly hit by cup fever. God knows what it's like in Bradford! One man who may be suffering from cup fever, but is more likely suffering from big-cheque-in-the-back-pocket fever, is Kevin Keegan. He's stuck his oar in by being the face of Je L'aimerai - a spray laden with jasmine, lavender, and other guff which purportedly "relieves tension" or some other tripe. Capital One are going to be dishing it out on buses to the final, so keep an eye open for that one.Je L'aimerai is of course a play on Keegan's famous "I will love it...", and that alone is likely to sell more canisters than any scent or perceived effect.
From a man who "will love something" to one who "would really like" something. Malky Mackay has been in the press talking about how he'd like to experience a South Wales derby, but more importantly, experience it in the Premier League:
"Certainly playing in a derby against them would be something I'd really like to do, It's something [promotion] we will try to keep working towards. Brendan [Rodgers] and Swansea did that and great credit to them in getting the club into the promised land. It's been an 18-month journey down here to try and do that so far and it's something we are fully focused on.
"It's really pleasing to be in that situation eight points clear. We know there are a lot of games to go and a lot of points to play for, but delighted we have got that gap. The players have been nothing short of excellent in their professionalism.When questioned about the Swans reaching the Capital One cup final, he responded with good (if vague) grace:
"I think it is fantastic for the country. Two national competitions and a league and two years in a row the two Welsh clubs have got to one of the two national competition finals.
"I think it's fantastic for Wales."
On a final, humble note, spare a thought for Leon Britton, Garry Monk and Alan Tate. It must have been a strange sensation to be asked if you've played in a cup final before, but being too embarrassed to put your hand up. Having played in the Autoglass/LDV/Whatever-the-sponsor-is-these-days trophy final in 2005 (anyone remember that Trundle goal? Special), they decided this wasn't worth mentioning:
“The LDV Vans Trophy in 2006 was a massive, massive game for Swansea at the time, but it’s funny because the gaffer asked us in a team meeting the other day, ‘Has anyone played in a final?’ Me, Garry Monk and Alan Tate all wanted to put our hands up, but we were too embarrassed.
“You can’t say to Michael Laudrup, ‘Yeah, we played in the LDV Vans final against Carlisle and won 2-1’ - he’s won La Liga titles and things, so we kept our hands down. The boss would have been saying, ‘What’s the LDV Vans? Is that even a cup?’ I don’t think it would have gone down too well. He meant proper cups.
“It was huge for Swansea when we won the LDV Vans. We all thought, ‘This is it, we’re in a final, it’s at the Millennium Stadium and it’s on the telly’. But, no disrespect, I doubt too many people remember which clubs have won the LDV Vans. You would have never thought that, seven years down the line, we would be in a Capital One Cup final at Wembley, with the chance to win a major honour and qualify for Europe.” Leon Britton
For this trio, along with Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins and a select band of others, the upcoming final will be sweeter still having overseen all of the changes the club have been through in the past 10 years. More on Huw Jenkins tomorrow, so I'll leave you with another quote from Leon Britton which helps to put in perspective just how far the club have come since he first pulled on the white shirt of the club we so love:
“It was a bit of a culture shock at first,” said Britton. “I had been at Arsenal and West Ham, with famous players, big grounds and great training facilities, but Swansea didn’t even have a training ground. We used to get changed at the old Vetch Field stadium and then go off in convoy to different places to train.
“We trained on the beach a few times and I remember us going to Brighton and training on the strip of grass between the hotels on the sea front and the beach. We actually got moved on, so we found a patch of grass in the garden area of some apartments and we had people shouting from their windows, ‘Clear off, you can’t play football here!’ We used to train in hotel gardens quite a lot.
“The players used to take their own kit home to wash, I ruined loads of kits and lost them a few times. We had to take our own drinks to training as well. Some of the lads at Swansea now wouldn’t believe me, but it’s nice to know exactly how far the club has come. This is Swansea’s centenary year. To get to a major final for the first time is brilliant and to win it would be incredible.
“It would be fitting for everybody who has been part of the transformation.”I couldn't agree more Leon.