CUP IN HIS SIGHTS

The Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has said that he has now set his sights on winning the Capital One Cup after the club recently managed to get into the quarter-final stage of the competition.

Laudrup, who took over from Brendan Rodgers in the summer, has been able to perform miracles with the team. He has managed to get them close to the top half of the table in the Premier league, while they have the opportunity to play in the semi-final of the Capital One Cup if they manage a victory against Middlesbrough when they host the north-east club on Wednesday. This quarter-final match between the Premier league and the Championship club will determine the passage of Swansea into the semifinals of the competition.

The Capital One Cup is the competition that is regarded by most of the big clubs as an unnecessary distraction, but Laudrup has said that getting into the semifinals of any competition will give them believe that they can go on and win the trophy. Laudrup has also spoken about the possibility of playing at Wembley, which will host the final of the competition. During their 100 year history, the Welsh club has never been successful in either of the 2 cup competitions available in England – the FA cup and the League cup.

"I've always liked cups because when you're in a team that can't compete for the Champions League or title it's a way to success. It's a potential semi-final we're talking about. We're into the dreams of playing a final at Wembley and we have to do everything to get there. It was a fantastic year, though obviously we had to keep our eyes on the league and you have to manage that, that's the difficult part," said Laudrup ahead of the Middlesbrough match.