Rodgers thrilled as Swansea pick up pressure points

SWANSEA manager Brendan Rodgers believes the 3-1 victory over Bolton could prove a defining result in his team’s maiden Barclays Premier League campaign.

The Welsh club took full advantage of the 47th-minute sending-off of Ricardo Gardner as Joe Allen, Scott Sinclair and Danny Graham found the net to secure a valuable three points ahead of fixtures against Liverpool and Manchester United.

Arguably the most impressive aspect of another fluent home performance, which maintained Swansea’s unbeaten record at the Liberty Stadium, was the manner in which Rodgers’ side responded to an own goal from Graham, which brought Bolton back to 2-1 with 17 minutes to play.

Having surrendered a two-goal lead at Wolves seven days previously, it would have been understandable for Swansea nerves to have been jangling, but they weathered the storm for Graham to redeem himself with his fourth goal in successive games.

And Rodgers felt his players’ ability to manage the closing stages and banish the memories of the Molineux setback could be a critical moment in their campaign.

“There was a defining moment there for us because you know for sure everyone in the ground is asking, ‘How are they going to cope?’.

“It’s my job as the manager to prepare the players how to cope with that pressure.

“When it went to 2-1, to see the maturity of managing pressure, opening up the field and not allowing them to get a kick of the ball — that was pleasing.”

The defeat was Bolton’s eighth in their last nine league games and leaves Owen Coyle’s side ensconced in the relegation zone, languishing in 19th place.