Angel Rangel says he is happy to be back playing football after a non existent summer break
A successful first season in Wales. 53 appearances and an ever present record only ruined by an end of season injury. A League One winners medal and recognition from his fellow pros with an appearance in the PFA League One team of the year. That equated to quite a first twelve months for the Spaniard who was brought to Swansea last summer by Roberto Martinez.
An instant hit with the fans and his team mates alike he made the right back spot his own at the club but was forced to sit out the last few games with an injury and the promotion clinching moment was celebrated with the fans at the Liberty beam back rather than his team mates at Gillingham.
And so he thought he was heading off on a well deserved summer break when he returned to Spain at the end of last season looking for some rest to recharge the batteries that had naturally taken a bit of a battering. But there was no rest as he spent the first half of the summer on duty in his mum's grocery shop before undergoing the surgeon's knife and having to recover from that as well.
And so it is easy to see why he is happy to be back playing football again and he made his first Championship appearance yesterday as a second half substitute for Matty Collins in the 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest. Speaking in today's Wales on Sunday, Rangel said “It was great going back home at first. No-one knew me before I left, but coming home everyone in my town and even Catalonia knew about Swansea going to the Championship.
“They all wanted to talk to me and say well done, which was fantastic.
“I had planned to just go to the beach all summer while I was there or go off to Mallorca – but then when I got back my dad told me my mother had been taken into hospital.
“She was suffering with stress so I ended up helping out in her shop. She sells food, clothes, all sorts of stuff so I was in there every morning helping out – it wasn’t much of a holiday in the end.
“But that’s what you do for family and not so long after she was looking after me after my operation.
“It wasn’t the best summer, was it?
“And then you add in the fact it rained all May and June. I don’t think I’ve seen the sun in three months, which is not good for someone from Spain.
“And of course I was disappointed to know I would be missing the start of the season with the operation.
“But the disappointment was only when I found out I needed an op because I was already looking forward to getting back.
“When it came to Charlton, the disappointment was only about the result because I had knew all along I wasn’t ready.
“I have worked hard to get back and it was good for me to watch the game at The Valley because I do not know a lot about the Championship. All I knew before last week is that it will be bigger clubs, bigger grounds and better players.
“But anyone who saw us could see we played well and we can have a lot of hope for this season.
"We will be playing teams that are obviously stronger than League One and, although we can play our game, we must know we have to be focused and concentrating from the first minute to the 95th.
“Teams will not give you chances in the Championship, you have to earn them.
“So we cannot give team chances to score themselves.”