Rodgers hails 'big step forward' for Swansea

Swansea 3 West Bromwich Albion

The Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers believes their maiden Premier League win against West Brom is a "massive step forward" for the club. Swansea had failed to find the net, let alone record a win, from their first four league games, but that changed in spectacular fashion on Saturday as the South Wales club finally got the rewards their impressive performances have deserved with a 3-0 Liberty Stadium success against the Baggies.

Scott Sinclair ended the 374-minute wait for a goal from the penalty spot, with Leroy Lita and Nathan Dyer completing the scoring. The result was particularly timely with a trip to Chelsea looming next weekend, and Rodgers hopes it can take his side to the next level.

He said: "I always try to take the pressure off the players and put pressure on myself. Because of how we play, the players need to feel confident. But, for the players in their own minds, to get a win is a big thing and it is a massive step forward. Not only did we get the win but the style in which we did it was superb.

"We looked a real threat, like we have done all season. We were very creative but I also thought that was a big compliment to our organisation defensively. People will write about our style and passing, but there is substance to how we organise our lines, and to keep three clean sheets in five games at this level is a tall order for a newly promoted club."

The days leading up to the game had been hard for Rodgers and the Swansea community. Rodgers' father Malachy died last Saturday at the age of 59 following a battle with cancer, while the local area has had to deal with the deaths of four miners at the Gleision colliery in nearby Pontardawe.

A minute's silence was held ahead of the game as a mark of respect for both events and Rodgers, who revealed that three of his four brothers attended Saturday's game, said the miners and their families had been in his thoughts prior to the game.

He said: "I am happy to give some hope to my brothers and pay tribute to the supporters who have been incredible for me, and I have to thank them, and football in general, for their support.

"They understand it is not easy when you lose people but the football world has shown there is sympathy for people. Obviously we have had the situation with the miners down here which has been absolutely incredible and obviously I was thinking of their families when talking to my brothers on Friday. But my emotion is fine. I am happy to be back at work, I love my professional life, I love Swansea and I love nothing more than getting a win with a great performance."

West Brom boss Roy Hodgson was not such a happy man after a woeful performance from his side that saw them barely threaten and look porous at the back, but he refused to panic after seeing his side sink into the relegation zone.

Hodgson said: "Quite frankly I didn't think the result ever looked in danger, especially at 3-0. It didn't look in too much danger after 2-0 to be honest. It's the fifth game of 38, you are going to have bad days, you are going to have days where you lose unluckily, as we did against Stoke, and in some ways those defeats are harder to take than days like today when you are clearly the worse of the two sides.

"We have work to do to get our game back up to the standard we want to reach. Let's see what the next game brings and let's hope we can do a lot better than we did against Swansea City."

Scorers: Swansea Sinclair (pen 14), Lita 24, Dyer 49. Substitutes: Swansea Routledge 6 (Dyer, 71), Moore 6 (Lita, 71), Bessone (Taylor, 85). West Bromwich Brunt 5 (Thomas, h-t), Dorrans 5 (Mulumbu, h-t), Cox 6 (Scharner, 67).

Booked: Swansea Lita. West Bromwich Brunt, Odemwingie. Man of the match Lita.

Match rating 7/10.

Possession: Swansea 55% West Brom 45%.

Attempts on target: Everton 5 West Brom 8.

Referee M Atkinson (W Yorkshire)

Attendance 20,341.