Alfie Mawson will not be affected by his England selection disappointment, according to Swansea City manager Carlos Carvalhal.
Mawson will return to action as the Swans resume their Premier League campaign at Manchester United on Saturday, without having won his first cap during the international break.
The 24-year-old centre-back – arguably the club’s most consistent performer this season – was among the substitutes for England’s friendlies against both the Netherlands and Italy, but failed to get on the pitch.
But despite being the only one of the club’s international stars who did not play a single minute over the League break, Carvalhal is not concerned that the snub might affect his player’s form.
“There are two sides to the coin, here,” said Carvalhal. “One is, if you go it is fantastic, it is very good for him.
“The other side is you want to play. But, he was not involved. In the future, though, he will be. He is young. He is a hard player, he has come from the lower leagues and to go to the national team it is impressive.
“He must be happy and proud to represent the national team. To be involved in the group, he should be proud and not disappointed.
“He has achieved something very important. The hardest part is the first time, now he has done that he will go more often.”
Mawson will be part of a Swansea side aiming to put more daylight between themselves and the relegation zone by springing a surprise result at Old Trafford, where only Manchester City have won this season.
Before the FA Cup and the internationals intervened, Carvalhal’s team had gone from bottom of the table to 14th on the back on five wins and three draws in 10 matches.
Now, they are likely to need two or three more victories from their last eight games to preserve their Premier League status, but the manager is refusing to look too far ahead.
“I am not the person to do these statistics. We don’t look at the calendar and say where the points are coming from. We must think that in every game, even if for this game 99.99 per cent will see them as favourites.
“We must believe we can achieve points. If we don’t believe, why would people believe in us? This is a big challenge, but let’s fight.”
This will be the first time Carvalhal has faced his fellow Portuguese boss Jose Mourinho, although the two are friends, having attended coaching courses together.
At 55, Mourinho is three years older than Carvalhal but the pair have seen their careers take different trajectories with Mourinho taking charge at major European powers, during times when Carvalhal was still having to prove his worth.
In those spells, Carvalhal spent time studying Mourinho’s methods at both Chelsea and Real Madrid and still considers the Special One can overcome his doubters at United.
“It’s a big challenge to be there. I don’t talk about opponents too much, but I like Mourinho. He is a big manager and the best ever from Portugal.
“When he retires, he will be remembered for a long time. He is a winner and he likes the challenge of going to clubs that do not win so much in the last couple of years and to try and start to have them win.
“It is easier to achieve at some clubs, but at others you have to take small steps to achieve what you want. I think he is progressing them well, they have won trophies already. They are not competing for the title but next season they will be stronger.
“He is very good at mind games. The way he acts in mind games, he likes the theatre of it.
“He usually wins all these battles. I am different but I prefer to be out of the theatre.
“This is different, it will be very hard for us. If we achieve something we will be very happy, if we do not it will be normal. But if you have one per cent of a chance, you must have a 100 per cent belief in that chance.”
