Brendan Rodgers insists that the pressure is on other sides despite his side currently occupying 2nd place
The Swansea City manager believes that there are sides around him who have larger expectations of what they need to do this season and that reduces some of the pressure on his team as he prepares to take on Watford at the Liberty Stadium this evening.
Speaking to the Western Mail, Rodgers said “It’s very important to stay calm, what we’ve done all season has worked really well to put us in this position, a point clear in second.
“The pressure is on the teams that have spent big money and have big expectations.
“It’s my job to ensure we take the pressure off the players.
“For me, there’s no pressure, they just need to go out and enjoy it and the consequences of playing the football we have been playing.
“There’s absolutely no doubt that some clubs have put themselves under massive pressure in relation to the money they’ve spent to try and get into the Premier League.
“People in the game and outside of the game know we don’t have that money to go and shell out on players.
“Hull spent £1m on Matty Fryatt and over £1m on Aaron McLean so that power and the power of the likes of Leicester in relation to money....that’s the excitement for us as a club, to show there is a different way of doing it.
“For us, it’s about getting players that fit into the culture here.
“There are many good players out there, but not so many that can play in our style.
“The lads have been magnificent this year and continue to move the club forward,” he added.
“We’re showing we are a club that’s progressing but we know we’re not finished yet.
“There are still 11 games to go and we go into every game looking for that win.
“Our club is still building and I’m a manager still in my first season.
“I’m still getting to know the players and they’re still adapting to my methods and my work.
“For us, we see it as a process. “It’s a process that doesn’t put the club at risk and one that employs a manager who is hopefully going to offer stability and keep moving the team and the club forward. The main objective, when I came in here, was to stay in the league and we’ve done that.
“I will keep reinforcing with the players about the mental capacity needed to keep up with the pace.
“I keep stressing that will be the defining thing for us this season, just keeping that mentality and will to win.
“And if we can do that we’ll continue to move forward.
“I don’t think there would be disappointment if we didn’t go up automatically,” said Rodgers.
“We want to do the best we can whether that takes us to first, second or fourth.
“We’ll be judged at the end of the season but up until now the players have been magnificent and I just want to keep working with them on the field.
“The group has really come together for this final set of games and we’re enjoying the whole challenge.”