Ashley Williams has warned his Swansea teammates they must retain the momentum from their victory over Arsenal if they are to avoid relegation.
The Swansea City captain epitomised the defiant nature of the club’s gutsy 2-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night with a typically influential display.
But Williams has urged the squad to back up that result with victory at home to fellow strugglers Norwich City tomorrow – an outcome that could extend the Swans’ cushion above the drop zone to a sizeable nine points if both Sunderland and Newcastle lost again.
He says: “If we don’t beat Norwich, we’re back to square one. Not many people thought we would go to Arsenal and get a win, but we have to back it up now by beating Norwich.
“That game is just as important as Arsenal. Hopefully the win at the Emirates gives us confidence going into that game, but we cannot relax.
“We need to get some momentum going between now and the end of the season. If we beat Norwich we’ll be up to 33 points. I don’t think that will be enough (to stay up), but it would be massive if we could get another win. Every point is massive for us now.”
With head coach Francesco Guidolin absent in hospital, and having made six changes to the team that lost at Tottenham, Swansea were long odds to beat the Gunners – as long as 9-1 with some bookies.
But they showed spirit and an unfamiliar ruthlessness to strike back from a goal down to gain a priceless first win in five matches.
“We showed a lot of heart to get the win. The attitude was good throughout the team and it just shows the quality we do have throughout the squad. These players can be used and relied upon.
“We found ourselves in a difficult situation in the game. We had a lot of changes and went one down early on. That makes the win taste all the sweeter. We didn’t sit back like the other day (at Spurs). We kept playing, kept passing and trying to score goals, even at 1-1.”
A glance at the table now makes much more encouraging reading for Swansea fans, with a six-point gap between themselves and Sunderland.
Aside from free-falling Crystal Palace, the Canaries have the worst recent form record in the Premier league with seven defeats in their last eight matches.
The Swans follow up the Norwich game with matches against Bournemouth and Aston Villa.
“If we can beat a team going for the title, then there is no reason why we can’t beat anyone,” adds Williams.
