Laudrup calls for calm during derby

Swansea City boss Michael Laudrup has warned his players not to let the atmosphere of Sunday’s South Wales derby get the better of them.

Laudrup’s men take on Cardiff City for the first time in the Premier League and there is sure to be a lively atmosphere.

However, the 49-year-old has urged his charges not to get caught up in the emotion of the day at the Cardiff City Stadium and, instead, focus on gaining three points.

“A derby is a different game, first of all because it is a different game for the fans so of course as a player or a manager when you feel that you know for yourself it is a different game,” he said.

“We’re talking feelings and emotions here and that’s why a derby is something different. Sometimes as a manager you need to say: ‘I know you feel this game very much but still you have to look at it as a football game’.

“(It is) maybe a little different but it is still a game against 11 where you have to think with your head and play with your feet. You cannot let your emotions drag yourself towards something because we want to win the game and not play with one less.

“We are all human and football is about emotions, when the temperature rises you never know what can happen as football is about emotions but derbies are even more so.”

Defender Angel Rangel stoked the pre-match build up in the week, with comments made regarding Cardiff midfielder Gary Medel, suggesting the Chilean could be easily irritated.

It follows an incident between Medel and Swansea midfielder Jose Canas, when the pair featured in a derby for Sevilla and Real Betis respectively and Medel was sent off.

Laudrup explained his belief that the club’s foreign players are well versed in what the derby means to the fans, adding that a defeat would not necessarily be a disaster for Swansea’s hopes this season.

“You cannot ask a guy from Spain to understand it completely but they have their own derbies,” he continued.

“Players from Spain understand huge derbies like Sevilla and Betis and, when they hear the word derby, they know exactly how it is.

“Perhaps not exactly what it is here but wherever you are around the world one thing all countries have in common is the importance it has to the fans.

“What it will give to the winner, if there is a winner, is a boost of confidence and of joy.

“If we are talking about the table then it is just one more round.”