Roberto Martinez talks about the Welsh clubs as well as tonight's trip to Carlisle

It has been an interesting season for clubs in the south of the country.  Cardiff have reached the FA Cup Final against all the odds and will compete for one of football's showpieces on 17th May whilst Swansea look set to lift themselves back into the top two divisions of English football for the first time in almost 25 years.   On the flip side, Wrexham look to be fighting a losing battle to stay in the league and stand 7 points from safety with just 6 games to go.

And whilst Roberto's mind is most definitely on the imminent task of promotion he is keen enough to acknowledge the differing plights of the other two Welsh league clubs.   Speaking in today's Western Mail, he said

“For Welsh football the higher the Welsh clubs can be the better it is for everyone. That would have good repercussions on international results and that is very important

“As far as Cardiff go, well to see a Championship club get into the FA Cup final speaks volumes. I think it is a huge achievement for them.

“And we hope Wrexham can get a fantastic run from this point on until the end of the season and remain in the league for the good of Welsh football as a whole.

“It is vital because you are talking about professional clubs in Welsh sport and to lose one out of the three we have is a huge, huge chunk.

“You just hope they get that little bit of luck which everyone needs to avoid relegation at this stage of the season – that would be huge for Welsh football. If Wrexham lost their professional status it would be an enormous setback for the game in Wales."

Suggestions in South Wales are that Cardiff's FA Cup success has distracted from the good work that Martinez has done in Swansea but that is not the way that he sees the job that he and his squad have done

“We are not doing anything just to get attention from the outside world we are trying to progress our football club, to take this club to where it belongs. We are trying to get into the Premiership in the end.

“It is not that we do something to have a good run somewhere or do something to get recognition. It is not about that, it is about taking the club to the next stage.”

Whilst nothing can be decided tonight, the Swans can put themselves within a point of promotion with a victory and will also be aware that it would be a huge step towards silverware for the Liberty Stadium trophy cabinet. “When you have first playing second in any league it is always a brilliant game to be involved in as a football club and a player,” said Martinez.

“Away from home in League One you have to adapt and the football we play at home and away from home is totally different. So this game is a big opportunity for us and we are looking forward to it very much.

“Before the start of the season if they had told us we would have 82 points in April we would have been happy with that. The anxiety of getting there does not take anyone anywhere. We carry on until the end of the season with the standards we have set out and we see where we are at the end of it. Outside factors we will never be able to stop. Inside the club we always just keep working really hard, looking to improve whilst maintaining our performances and the standards we set ourselves at the start of the season.

“From inside the camp you are not going to see any difference. Maybe from the outside it is going to be a roller-coaster of ups and downs, the expectations are huge in what has been a very difficult league.

“The number of big football clubs trying to get out has proved that. We will keep going though trying to improve on the number of points we have at the moment.”

Photo: Action Images

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