Painter fans flames as Swans out to get even

Jan 16 2008 by Blair Wood, Western Mail

DEFENDER Marcos Painter has stoked the flames ahead of tonight’s “battle” with Havant & Waterlooville by insisting the Swans give their opponents a footballing lesson to remember.

Painter was left angry as Roberto Martinez’s talented squad were held to a 1-1 draw by their non-league opponents 10 days ago.

He knows the Swans should have won at the Liberty Stadium and is looking to set the record straight tonight.

The left-back was just one of several players to pick up a knock that day as the Hawks adopted a physical approach.

Their game-plan was simple; soak up pressure and try to bully Swansea into submission.

In fairness to the Hawks, it worked enough for them to earn a very credible replay.

And, no matter what injustice they feel about the number of dangerous tackles, Painter bristled as he admitted the Swans squad should already have booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round.

“We will definitely be going out to teach them a footballing lesson,” he warned.

“We let ourselves down in the last game against them. We should have won by several goals and we definitely shouldn’t have conceded to a team like that.

“When I watched Match of the Day afterwards I was just angry. My blood was boiling, especially during their interviews and when they were all jumping about.

“It just makes me want to get revenge, really. We are a better team than them and they were talking a bit too much after the game.”

Reflecting further on that 1-1 draw, Painter said, “After the final whistle there was so much anger going around the changing room. It was a massive disappointment and the gaffer wasn’t happy.

“We know we should be beating teams like that, especially at home. But that’s gone now and we are just looking to put it right.”

Painter is under no illusions as to what sort of game to expect tonight. He thinks the Hawks will adopt a similarly robust approach and, as is the case for the rest of Martinez’s squad, it’s clear he is anticipating a bruising night on the south coast.

One man in particular seems to have riled the Swans. Havant’s right-back, Justin Gregory, was responsible for the majority of the game’s bad tackles and was lucky to stay on the pitch after a blatant stamp on Painter.

But Painter (right) is confident the Swans have learnt their lesson and insists they won’t be dragged down to the hosts’ level this time.

“It’s going to be another battle,” he said. “We just need to keep our calm because we know they will look to provoke us.

“They like to leave a foot in and you can see with the amount of knocks and players going to hospital for stitches that they get stuck in. But I certainly won’t be shying away from any tackles, especially not with their right-back.

“Apparently he stamped on me last time. But I was too busy holding my leg in pain to notice what had happened. I was told afterwards what he had done. That summed him up though and it wasn’t his only bad tackle.”

Meanwhile, the Swans are set to step up their search for a striker with Warren Feeney’s permanent move to the Liberty Stadium postponed until at least the summer.

Feeney enjoyed a successful loan spell in Swansea at the end of last year. But he is now back at Cardiff City recovering from an ankle injury he sustained in the Swans 3-0 win over Southend last month.

The injury, combined with issues arising from the length of his contract at Ninian Park, means any deal has to be put on the backburner for the time being.