Tremmel lays down the law

24 October 2013 10:46

Goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel has told his Swansea team-mates attitude will be key when they face Kuban Krasnodar, and he will not be shy in setting them straight should they be found wanting.

Swansea can move a step closer to a place in the knockout stages with victory against Kuban at the Liberty Stadium, having opened their Group A campaign with victories over Valencia and St Gallen.

The Russians have been on a poor recent run, and their manager Viktor Goncharenko has been in charge for less than a fortnight.

They are bottom of the Group A pile and Swansea will be expected to maintain their 100 per cent record.

But Tremmel knows there will be no room for complacency.

"You can't predict things," he said. "The Valencia game away was very good for us and everyone expected us to win against St Gallen, but you can see you can lose against any teams.

"I keep focused on the next game. If we beat Kuban then we will speak about different things.

"To be fair, our attitude is good for every game, but sometimes you can be lacking a little bit on the pitch, for example if our passing is not good.

"But, if the attitude is wrong, you cannot correct it on the pitch. You're going to lose. There's not much chance you're going to get a result.

"People have to remember there is an opposition team who also wants to win the game and it's not like we can say, 'We're Swansea, we have a good attitude so we will be good enough to win.' We would be Premier League champions if that were the case."

And Tremmel will have no qualms about setting his team-mates right.

"You get to know the characters of the players," he said.

"Sometimes players need a slap and sometimes they are trying too hard to do well and then you have to get them to concentrate on the easy stuff.

"You have to come into the game and play your game, not think too much. To switch your mind off is the hardest thing and the big players can all do it."

Swans' boss Michael Laudrup is again without captain Ashley Williams as the defender's ankle ligament problem continues to keep him sidelined, while left-back Ben Davies will be out until after November's international break with an ankle sprain.

But the Dane has no doubt over the abilities of Jordi Amat and Neil Taylor, who missed almost all of last season after breaking his ankle, to deputise.

He said: "I have huge confidence in both Jordi, who has already shown how good he is, and Neil as well.

"That's good, not for me, but for the team. They know these guys are coming in and, while you have important players like Ashley who is the captain, missing, the level of performance does not change.

"The secret is if you can put in players that are at a high level it doesn't seem like it's a huge loss for the players."

Source: PA