Williams urges swift Swansea response

Swansea City defender Ashley Williams insists it is imperative the club return to winning ways at Aston Villa on Saturday.

Michael Laudrup’s men are without a win in their past four matches in the Premier League and have slipped to back-to-back defeats against Everton and Chelsea.

The Welsh side currently occupy 11th position in the table, but are only four points clear of the relegation zone.

Swansea will hope to capitalise on a Villa side bereft of confidence following four straight league defeats this weekend and Williams is eager to move clear of the cluster of teams hovering above the bottom three.

Speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “We have lost the last two, so it’s going to be a massive game for both teams. It’s very important – every game is in this league.

“They (Villa) lost to (Crystal) Palace at home on Boxing Day, and they will be desperate to make up for that particularly as they are at home again.

“There is no concern for us with the defeats and the gap between the teams below us in the table.

“Our aim is to put some distance between us and the teams below us. We don’t want to get caught up in that because there aren’t any teams that are really falling away – it’s very close.

“Villa Park is a very tough place to play but we know we are capable of winning there and bouncing back from these back-to-back defeats.”