From the Swansea camp

paul.d · May 24, 2006

Leon Knight
"I've played in the Championship with QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton, but I have never been in a team as good as <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Swansea</place></city>. They already have Championship players.
"But you have to be able to hold your nerve in a play-off final and not let the occasion get to you. It's about being mentally strong and I will play as if I'm with my mates down the park. That's how I handle it.''



Sam Ricketts
"Last season was absolutely quality and it's been one long roller-coaster ever since I came to <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Swansea</city></place>.
"We're coming into form at just the right time and it would be a dream come true to go back to the Millennium Stadium again and win promotion there."

Kenny Jackett
"The fact we've done it once will help in terms of getting things right in the build-up. Obviously the whole experience is much better if you win."



Lee Trundle
"We all want to play on big occasions and that's when I produce. I'll be telling a few of my mates to have a little bet on me scoring.
"We've all delivered when it's mattered this season and we know we can do it.''



Andy Robinson
"It will be exciting, but we have to keep on an even keel and approach it like a normal game. It's not of course, it's massive.''



Leon Britton
"We don't want to get carried away, but with Championship football at stake we know we have a massive opportunity on our hands. But this team always seems to rise to the big occasion and hopefully it will again this time.''



Kristian O'Leary
"It's scary because three years ago we were playing just to stay in the League and now we are 90 minutes away from reaching the Championship. I don't think many people would have expected that. I don't think anyone expected us to reach the Millennium Stadium twice in one season, never mind twice in six weeks."



Kevin McLeod
"I drove down to the ground on Sunday with my girlfriend. There were thousands of people queuing for hours in the rain to get tickets for the final. You could see in their faces how much it meant to get a ticket for the game and as players, we've got to take that with us to the Millennium Stadium.
"If we can beat Barnsley, there'll be the biggest party in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Swansea</place></city> that anybody has ever seen."

paul.d · May 24, 2006

Rory-I believe it's meant to be

Fallon's ready to turn back the clock

Rory Fallon will turn back the clock at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday when he faces the club that first introduced him to the British game.
The Kiwi striker will face a Barnsley side that gave him his first pro contract in the game after he packed his bags as a wide-eyed 16-year-old and boarded a plane in <country-region w:st="on">New Zealand</country-region> bound for <place w:st="on">Yorkshire</place>.
As a kid growing up in rugby-mad <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">New Zealand</place></country-region>, professional football probably seemed a million miles away for Fallon.
But his father, Kevin, a coach who had taken New Zealand to their only World Cup finals in 1982 for one of the country's greatest sporting moments, had used his connections well to secure the promising striker a trial with Barnsley.
"My brother Shaun left New Zealand a few years before me to sign for Liverpool only to be released three years later, so I knew what to expect,'' explained Rory, who missed the Football League Trophy final because he was cup-tied.
"I learnt from his mistakes and I had already decided that if I wasn't successful at <place w:st="on">Barnsley</place> I would keep trying elsewhere. Shaun went to the best and I went where I could get established.''
<place w:st="on">Barnsley</place>, who had just slipped out of the Premiership by the time Fallon arrived, liked what they saw in the 6ft 2in striker and offered him apprenticeship terms.
That eventually turned into a pro contract and he spent five happy years there before joining <place w:st="on">Swindon</place> for £60,000 back in 2003.
Although <place w:st="on">Swindon</place> slapped a £300,000 price tag on his head, it didn't put Swans boss Kenny Jackett off and he joined the Liberty Stadium revolution during January's transfer window.
"Clubs like <placename w:st="on">Nottingham</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Forest</placetype>, Southend, <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Hull</place></city> and Millwall weren't too sure because of the price,'' added Fallon. "But <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Swansea</place></city> really wanted me and the manager promised to make me a better player.
"I could have hung on until the summer and got a better signing on fee by going on a free transfer somewhere, but I just couldn't turn down <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Swansea</place></city>. It was too big a move for me.
"There was a lot of pressure on me when I first arrived and it didn't help that I had to wait so long for the goals to come.
"But I feel I've established myself now and I want to push on. Like most players, I want to play at the highest level and hopefully I can do that with <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Swansea</place></city> - starting with clinching a place in the Championship on Saturday.
"We have proved to be a big game team this season and I'm sure we can do it again against <place w:st="on">Barnsley</place>. I believe it's meant to be.''

paul.d · May 24, 2006

And Austin says............(no not that one!)

<div class="articleText"><h3 class="headline" id="headline">Austin wants another taste of the Championship </h3><div class="articleBody" id="articleBody">

Swans defender Kevin Austin will come face to face with one of his former clubs at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday with one goal in mind - sampling Championship football again.
Barnsley, Swansea's opponents for the League One play-off final, are one of the seven clubs Austin has represented on his footballing travels.
And there's nothing more Austin would like than another crack at the Championship next season having tasted the second tier of British football with Barnsley during his two-year spell at the club from 1999-2001.
"It was a great experience playing in the Championship with Barnsley,'' adds Austin. "Unbelievable, in fact.
''It's still a great club and despite suffering from a serious Achilles injury I was sorry to leave.
''Like Swansea, Barnsley are geared up to play their football at a higher level, but I hope they have to wait that little bit longer than us.''
Although Austin's contract expires after Saturday's Millennium Stadium experience, the big defender who was described as a ''rock'' by skipper Garry Monk at Brentford 10 days ago, is still hopeful of pulling the proud Swans shirt back on next season - but in the Championship this time.
"There are some big clubs in the Championship that would hold their own in the Premiership,'' added Austin.
"Obviously the skill factor in the Championship is greater and the pace is a notch higher than League One, but if Swansea get up there I firmly believe they won't have a problem adapting.''
Austin does have some bad memories of his time at Oakwell, however, after he was forced to watch injured from the Wembley stands as his Barnsley side lost out on a return to the Premiership after they were beaten in the play-off final by Ipswich six years ago.
''I still remember everything being doom and gloom after that defeat,'' he added. "Take it from me, to lose a play-off final is not a nice experience, so we have to make sure we finish the job we've started on Saturday.''</div></div>

From the Swansea camp

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