Leon Britton is ready to face the Ninian Park atmosphere - after turning it down last time he had the chance

Britton then turned down an invitation from former team mate Izzy Iriekpen to watch West Ham play at Ninian but is now ready to face the atmosphere that derby day will produce.

Britton will line up in the centre of the Swans midfield on Sunday having starred for almost all of the corresponding fixture at the Liberty - he was red carded right at the end for a second bookable offence in the 2-2 draw.

He told the Western Mail “When Izzy was here and West Ham were in the Championship he asked me if I wanted to go in the away end with him, but I was a bit sceptical to say the least.

“I told him I didn’t really fancy it but, to be fair, Izzy still went down. I didn’t want to ruin my good looks you see and I’m not sure the away end at Ninian is the best place for a Swansea player.

“Izzy survived in the end, although I’m sure he probably went with a balaclava or something. He enjoyed himself, but it wasn’t for me.

“I would be gutted if I never got to play at Ninian Park before Cardiff move to their new stadium, you hear a lot about previous players going there and what the fans think of it and I want to sample all that.

“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to play there. And, whenever I come to Cardiff, it’s always a question of, ‘Where’s Ninian Park?’

“I want to see what it is all about there. I have heard all the tales and I’m looking forward to playing there.

“Everyone talks about Ninian Park having an intimidating atmosphere with the fans so close to the pitch,” he said. “I suppose it’s a bit similar to the Vetch.

“It might not the most beautiful ground, but it works for Cardiff, like the Vetch did for us, because opposition teams won’t like going there. It’s a unique situation because there aren’t many grounds like it in the league anymore.

“We just have to rise above it, though. We know it’s going to be quite intimidating and, with the fans close to the pitch, there will be a lot of noise and abuse.

“But we just have to make sure we keep our heads and try to focus on playing well. As soon as you start losing focus and wondering about the crowd, you lose the game.

“We can’t afford to do that because it’s important we pick up a win again whether it’s against Cardiff or anyone else. The games are running out now so we need to get three points to push back towards the play-offs.”

Leon's comments were taken from the Wales Online website - you can read the full article at http://www.walesonline.co.uk/footballnation/swansea-city-fc/2009/04/04/swansea-city-s-leon-britton-keen-to-sample-ninian-park-atmosphere-now-91466-23308964/

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