Ashley Williams was relieved to end his difficult two weeks with a victory for the Swans at Reading
The Swansea City defender captained his country as their qualification hopes ended just three games into a campaign with back to back defeats but he was glad to bounce back to winning ways with victory at Reading on Saturday.
Scott Sinclair's goal was enough to give the Swans victory at the Madejski Stadium and Williams told the Western Mail after the game “We knew what it meant to the boss coming back here
“He’s been brilliant to us and we wanted to repay him with the two wins, at Watford and here at Reading especially.
“It’s not about personal vendettas or anything crazy like that, but we knew it was a game he badly wanted to win. We did that and when we got back to the dressing room he just said, ‘Thanks’.
“It’s tough going somewhere where you’ve worked before, so we knew how important the win was to him.
“It’s probably been the toughest two weeks of my career,” he said.
“It’s been tough with the travelling and the games haven’t been brilliant.
“On top of that you’ve got the training and the media. I’ve done a lot of interviews. But a 1-0 win away from home is perfect for a centre-half and makes it all worthwhile.
“This is my third season now of league and international games and I’ve learned to deal with it.
“You learn how to manage yourself and trying to stay injury-free is the main thing.
“Your social life is non-existent because you’re just trying to get your energy back up and relaxing all the time.
“I’d never want a breather. I just want to play every game and couldn’t imagine being on the bench
“I’ve already pencilled in after the Palace game when I might be able to get a couple of days off. I know that mentally in my head I’ve got to keep going until then.”