Laudrup calls for more ruthless Swansea

Michael Laudrup has urged his Swansea side to show more ruthlessness in front of goal, starting against Manchester City.

The Welsh outfit have found the back of the net on 24 occasions this term – more than any other side in the bottom half of the table – but they have still faced criticism for not hitting the back of the net with more regularity, despite enjoying the majority of possession in many of their fixtures.

And Laudrup concedes that he is looking for his charges to make the most of their chances, although he acknowledges that it is a more pressing concern for other teams in the league.

“I think it’s strange about the goals,” he said. “On one hand, with the way we play and the possession we have, we should score more goals.

“On the other hand, we have scored more goals than any of the other teams between 10th and 20th in the table. If we have a problem, then everybody else has a bigger problem.

“But I think yes, with the way we play, we should score more – although it’s easy to say and a lot more difficult to do.”

Swansea welcome high-flying Manchester City to the Liberty Stadium on New Year’s Day, looking for a measure of the revenge for the 3-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on December 1.

Laudrup felt that his squad applied themselves well in that encounter, but has stressed the importance of taking chances against a City side blessed with an array of attacking talent.

He added: “We played them a month ago and played very well in the first half. We didn’t take our chances, and in the end they beat us 3-0 because they have so much quality. For some – even some of the bigger teams – it has been even worse.

“They play good football. In the transition phase, when you have the ball and they get it, in three seconds, they can be up the other end.

“With players that fast, like (Jesus) Navas, like (Sergio) Aguero – I know he’s not playing tomorrow – and (Samir) Nasri, you have to be very careful.

“If we can play like we did last time, as well as take our chances, I really think we have a chance. But we have to take our chances when we get them, because you will not get seven clear goal chances against a team like City.”