Laudrup: Still Room For Improvement

Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup says there's still room for improvement after their 3-0 home win against West Ham United.

The 48 year-old was focusing mainly on his side's set piece defending, as West Ham looked to attack via free kicks and corners thanks to the arrival of club record signing Matt Jarvis.

The Hammers had their chances early on from set pieces before they threw away any chance of a point after two individual mistakes gifted the hosts a 2-goal lead at half time.

Laudrup enjoyed his home League debut in front of a sellout Liberty Stadium crowd on Saturday, but admitted his side were 'lucky' in the first half, before showing a big improvement in the second.

"In the first half we scored two goals from three or four chances which is great but we also gave them some opportunities.

"We gave them lots of corners and set pieces and with the players we have and the players West Ham have they could cause us a lot of problems.

"They had some big chances from set pieces and maybe we were a bit lucky but I thought in the second half we were in complete control.

"We have lots of small, fast players that can cause defenders problems.

"They are so good at turning quickly and running at players and we are creating lots of chances.

"But it`s a balance because we have to make sure we are defending properly as well and I thought we did that in the second half.

"The boys are full of confidence at the moment and we have to take advantage of that and keep it going."

Laudrup also appreciated the support from the fans on Saturday - which can help towards picking up a few more points during the season:

"Football, especially for the fans, is about dreams and emotions.

"It was great of me to be part of a game at home with a full crowd.

"The last time I experienced that was in Denmark with Brondby, most of my other clubs have been 50 or 60% full.

"It`s a factor that could get you five, six or seven points over a season and that could turn out to be very important for us.

"But for us we have emotion as well but we can`t allow ourselves to dream.

"We will enjoy this but on Monday we go back to work and thinking about how to beat Barnsley on Tuesday night."

Laudrup finally added that he was happy with another three points, but he'll also look to see how his side can improve:

Laudrup said: "It was a great second game for us and the first in front of our own supporters.

"Two games, six points, eight goals and two clean sheets is excellent and as a manager and former player that wasn`t a defender it makes me happy.

"I am very happy with the win.

"Again we must analyse what we did well and where we can improve.

The Swansea boss always appears to be completely honest in his assessment of his team's performance, and he's right when he says that sometimes they were fortunate against the Hammers. Particularly, their set pieces which tested the defence, as Vorm was forced into a great reflex save from Jarvis. 

The Swans have shown a massive improvement in their finishing, which was rather lacking last season, as sometimes they struggled to convert chances into wins under Brendan Rodgers. What's been most impressive so far though is how Laudrup's team are working well together so early on in his tenure. Long may it continue.

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