Rodgers: Tough Calls To Make In Play-offs

Swansea City boss Brendan Rodgers admits there's some tough calls to make for the play-offs as he prepares his team for a trip to Nottingham Forest on Thursday.

The Swans manager says he cannot afford to be sentimental as he faces some hard decisions to make as he decides what team to name for the semi-final.

Rodgers has a team selection headache, with the need to pick two centre backs out of three, not to mention a host of quality midfielders to choose from.

'There are some tough calls for me to make, because some players have been very, very good for me and some have been brilliant.

'But one of the things I learned from my time out as a manager is that sentiment means nothing.

'You cannot be sentimental when you're making your decisions, and maybe that was something I did wrong earlier in my career.

'Because of my upbringing, and because I wanted to give people time, I maybe gave some players too much time. Part of my reflection when I was out of the game (before taking over at Swansea) was that you cannot be sentimental no matter how much people have done for you.'

Talking about his centre backs, Rodgers said:

'That's something I need to think about.

'Sometimes you can be unfortunate. Garry was fantastic at Portsmouth, but then we went to Millwall and produced one of our best performances away from home, particularly defensively.

'Sometimes when you have that balance defensively it's important to keep it. You can change other areas, but not always defence.'

And the midfield:

'I could toss a coin and play any three of them.

'We have such an array of talent in midfield — the players have been fantastic for me.

'I feel sorry for someone like Andrea Orlandi, who began the season in the team and did really well for us. Then he got injured and he couldn't get back in.

'Mark Gower has had to sit out the last wee bit of the season, and he has been fantastic.

'But that competition is what brings out the best in players.

'The beauty of this season has been me being able to turn around and see a strong substitutes' bench.'

Brendan Rodgers has the benefit of a full squad available to choose from for the first play-off match on Thursday. Ferrie Bodde remains the only player unavailable to play.

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