He scored a hat trick to keep the Swans in the football league and now James Thomas says the current squad can deliver history
The former Swansea City striker was inducted into the recently launched hall of fame as a result of his goals in the 2002/3 season where the Swans battled successfully against relegation.
And he will now look on at Wembley on Monday hoping that the Swans can exit the football league in the other direction by beating Reading in the Championship play off final.
Thomas told the Western Mail “It seems to me they’ve got a great team spirit and hopefully that will shine through on the day
“Wembley is a hell of a stadium and could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for a lot of the players so they have to make the most of it.
“I’m really confident. I think the pitch will suit the brand of football they play.
“It comes down to the occasion and how they handle it, but hopefully everyone will give it their best shot.
“To reach the Premier League would be such a great feat, an unbelievable achievement.
“The foundation is there and the team plays the type of football that you need to play in the Premier League, they keep the ball well and pass it around.
“Obviously they will need to strengthen here and there, but I think team spirit is such an important thing.
“They seem to have that in abundance.
“You can definitely see from the stands that it’s there and it’s something Cardiff didn’t seem to have.
“Maybe they had the better players, but they didn’t look as if they had that team spirit.
“You don’t necessarily need great players, as long as you have that spirit in the squad.
“The Hull game was such a big turning point and they haven’t looked back since.
“Ever since that day against Hull the club has been progressing and Brendan seems to be the man to take the club into the future.
“But I don’t think you can compare the two games, there are two totally different types of pressure involved.
“Against Hull it was all or nothing and would have been such a big turning point in the club’s history either way.
“With the Hull match we could have gone down and it might have been the end for the club.
“One memory I have before the game was of Alan Curtis. He got us all in a huddle and poured his heart out about the club.
“I’ll always remember that because Curt was quite reserved, but the passion he had really helped us through it.
“There is pressure on Monday’s game, but, even if they don’t get promotion, they can still look back on a great season.
“With a bit more strength added to the squad there is still the possibility of promotion next season or in seasons to come.
“Both games are really important for the club, but it’s a different type of pressure involved against Reading.
“I definitely think there will be goals, I’ll go for 2-1 to Swansea, why not?
“It will be great whoever it is that hopefully gets the winner.
“But you can’t forget that there are 10 other players on the pitch and that was the same in my case.
“You’ve also got the rest of the squad, the coaches and the manager who deserve the same amount of praise as the goal scorers.
“It’s a totally different club to when I played there, the stadium, the way it’s run and it’s more professional now,” he said.
“For the first couple of years after I finished I was happy to get away from it.
“I was so frustrated with my injury that I was glad to see the back of football.
“But I was really starting to miss it and I’d really love to be a part of it again, especially going to Wembley.
“I know that’s not going to happen, but I can do my bit now by supporting the team.
“Swansea means a lot to me. They are my hometown club and I want to see them do well.
“The progress they’ve made over the last few years has been brilliant.
“And, living in Swansea, for them to reach the Premier League would mean so much to the city, especially in this economic climate, it would provide such a big boost.
“It’s a different world in the Premier League, a different class of player compared to the Championship, so it would really be a big step up.”