Match Report: Michael Laudrup feels the belief return after Swansea rubbish reports of unhappy camp with win over Wigan

Swansea City 2 Wigan Athletic 1

Maynor Figueroa of Wigan Athletic wins the arial battle for the ball with Pablo Hernandez of Swansea (Getty images)

The Swansea City manager, Michael Laudrup, feels his squad can head into a testing run of fixtures with renewed belief after securing a first win in six. The Welsh club visit Manchester City on Saturday before a reunion with their former manager Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup; Chelsea visit the Liberty Stadium the following Saturday and while few will back Swansea to pick up a result from that trio of assignments, Laudrup is pleased his players at least head into them with a spring in their step.

"The good thing is I really don't have to motivate anyone," he said. "Man City have a lot of quality, they are a great team with [manager Roberto] Mancini. After the last Champions League game they changed seven, eight players and beat Sunderland 4-0. That is a luxury to have when you have a lot of money.

"We know it will be difficult but, on the other hand, we know they are teams that will let you play. They play well but they lose the ball."

Victory over Wigan came at the end of a two-week period in which the Swans were stung by reports of dissatisfaction among senior players at Laudrup's methods. The club have repeatedly denied there is any foundation to the reports, while Laudrup has been impressively measured in his own response.

And the Dane remained philosophical. "Another day will be another thing, another club," he said. "It is never nice when you see something that is like, 'What is this?' Because you know it is not like that but you have to deal with it. We know things come and go and they go much faster when you get a positive result. But we know in all teams there will be unhappy players, because even in the biggest teams if you are not playing you are unhappy. Everybody wants to play."

Match facts

Swansea: VORM 6/10, RANGEL 6, CHICO 7, WILLIAMS 7, DAVIES 7, BRITTON 7, DE GUZMAN 7, KI 6, HERNANDEZ 8, MICHU 7, ROUTLEDGE 8

Wigan: AL-HABSI 6, FIGUEROA 6, CALDWELL 6, RAMIS 6, BEAUSEJOUR 6, McARTHUR 6, McCARTHY 6, BOYCE 7, DI SANTO 6, MALONEY 5, KONE 7

Goals: Swansea Hernandez 65, Michu 67). Wigan Boyce 69. Subs: Swansea Dyer (Hernandez, 72), Graham (De Guzman, 83). Wigan Watson (Figueroa, 71), Boselli (McArthur, 83), Gomez (Di Santo, 83). Booked: Swansea Rangel, Ki. Wigan Beausejour, Maloney, Gomez. Man of match Routledge. Match rating 6/10. Possession: Swansea 53%. Wigan 47%. Attempts on target: Swansea 11. Wigan 7. Referee M Jones (Cheshire). Attendance 19,696