Graham Potter wants the Swansea City fans to give Angel Rangel a heroes welcome on his return to the Liberty Stadium with QPR this weekend.
But the new Swans boss hopes that’s where the goodwill ends when the Spanish defender, who spent 11 years at the club, makes his emotional trip back to the ground where he became a cult figure.
While Rangel got very few first team chances in the relegation campaign last season, he claimed to have spoken to the chairman and manager about extending his career at Swansea. The 35-year-old then headed to QPR after failing to get a positive reply.
“The decision on Angel had been made at a club level before my arrival. He said he still wanted to play, but we had Conor Roberts and Kyle Naughton already contracted and to take three right backs into the championship wasn’t financially viable,” said Potter.
“I have got nothing but respect for what he has done. He has been a fantastic servant for Swansea City. He is a modern day example of a great professional and he deserves a big welcome back.
“I know he wants to carry on playing into his late thirties and, apart from Saturday, we wish him all the best.”
Rangel has said that when he got no response from the Swans about his wish to stay he decided it was time to move on.
“I wanted to stay, at the beginning of last season I asked about the possibility of extending [my contract] with the chairman [Huw Jenkins],” Rangel told BBC Sport Wales.
“I didn’t play much, but when we went down and would obviously be in the Championship I thought maybe there would be an opportunity [to stay].
“The manager [Carlos Carvalhal] left and Graham Potter came in. I did meet him a couple of times after I left and had a good chat with him.
“If it was a no, I could have moved on. I would have tried to prove myself in training, but when I got no answer I thought it was time to move on.”
Potter hopes to have Kosovan playmaker Bersant Celina back in action after missing two matches, while club captain, and former QPR star, Leory Fer should be able to take some part in the game after recovering from a groin injury that kept him out of the last three matches.
“Everybody is making progress and Bersant has been training fully and Leroy has been a part of the group. Both should be available at different stages in terms of game time, but they have made good progress,” said Potter.
“Tom Carroll has had no reaction from Boro and Jay Fulton is fine. It’ just Jefferson Montero and Wilfried Bony who are not available yet, and Joel Asoro picked up a heavy contact with the U23s yesterday, so the game on Saturday will come too soon for him.
“Leroy is our captain, he’s played well when available and you miss his presence when he isn’t there. He’s an important player who brings physicality, he’s a big guy who can play.
“We have managed his minutes to a point and we hope he can build again in a way that lets him play as often as possible, and as well as possible.”
