These are your Swansea City headlines on Tuesday, February 21
Søndergaard reveals who helped get move done
New signing Andreas Søndergaard says it was former goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts who helped get his move to Swansea over the line.
The keeper joined the club on a free transfer last week having left Wolves in January in order to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Swansea have taken the 22-year-old on a deal until the end of the season and Søndergaard revealed talks with Wolves loanee Luke Cundle and the "good word" put in by Roberts, who is now working at Molineux, helped make the move a reality.
READ MORE: Russell Martin reveals star will leave Swansea City this summer with new targets already lined up
“I did not speak to them before I joined, but Tony did play a part in me coming here and I am grateful that he put a good word in for me,” said Søndergaard.
“Luke is someone I knew before I got here, but the first conversations I had with him, he only had good things to say about the club and the people.
“From the first day I walked into the building I have felt really good, everyone is so friendly – as I mentioned before – and it is just like a big family. It is great to be a part of it.”
For now, Søndergaard says he can't wait to get started after a whirlwind few days which saw him travel to Blackburn just hours after signing.
“It has been a crazy few days. There have been a lot of things going on, but I signed on Friday and then travelled on the same day with the squad for the game on Saturday,” he added.
“I feel like I almost didn’t really realise the situation and what was going on, just because it was really, really busy. I have really enjoyed it so far. It is an absolutely amazing city, and the people are so friendly here as well.
“I mean everyone here has just looked after me and tried to make feel welcome and at home. That has been a big help, so it has been a really enjoyable first few days.
“I cannot wait to crack on and work hard to try and get opportunities. I am really grateful to get this opportunity and join a big club here. It is down to me now to do whatever I can, to put it all in to every training session.
“If I give it everything I have got, hopefully I can push the other two keepers as well, and create a really strong environment. All I can do is take it day by day and give it all I have got. If I do that, I believe opportunities will come.”
Winter acknowledges 'tension'
Swansea chief executive Julian Winter has urged supporters to stick with the team tonight after acknowledging "tension" in the ground during the 1-0 win over Blackpool last week.
The home side made hard work of seeing off the Seasiders seven days ago, something which head coach Russell Martin referenced following the defeat to Blackburn on Saturday.
Winter believes the backing of fans will help this young squad progress, labelling it "invaluable" in difficult moments on the pitch.
"We come into this fixture on the back of a late defeat against Blackburn on Saturday – a game which I thought we deserved at least a point from," Winter wrote in his programme notes ahead of tonight's game with Stoke City.
"We created some good chances in the first half and restricted the opposition to very little, and to come away with a draw would have been a real positive after the midweek win over Blackpool.
"But it wasn’t to be and now we have back-to-back home games to get ourselves in a position to attack the final period of the season.
"As Russell alluded to after the win here against Blackpool, there was some tension around the stadium and whilst that is understandable, we all have to pull together and get behind the players and coaching staff.
"We have a very young squad – one of the youngest in the division – and they are giving everything they have right now.
"This is a tough league and it isn’t easy to do things the way we are doing it – trying to be different – and there is a real togetherness amongst the players which is great to see.
"But they will need support from everyone, particularly if there are periods in games where things might not be going our way, your support is truly invaluable in those moments.
"There has been some terrific atmospheres inside this stadium this season and we have eight games left on home soil, so let’s see where it takes us."
Early team news
Russell Martin is likely to make changes to his team against the Potters, with a quick turnaround following the game at Ewood Park.
Ollie Cooper was named on the bench in Lancashire and could return to the starting XI.
Martin said before the Rovers game: "We've got some tired bodies as you'd expect but everyone will be ready and raring to go.
"It's three games in six days so we've got to utilise the squad over the next two games, we've got a few players who haven't played for a while that came back into the team."
The visitors, meanwhile, will make a late decision on the availability of Ben Pearson, while former Swan Bersant Celina is suffering from tonsillitis and is a doubt, as is Axel Tuanzebe.
Sam Clucas is on the mend from back surgery and was due to play for the under-21s on Monday night.
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