Norwich City vs Swansea City - Alex Neil warns players over threat to places

Posted Saturday, November 07, 2015 by PA

Norwich manager Alex Neil has warned every player's place is "under threat" as he looks to move the team up the Barclays Premier League table.

The Canaries host Swansea out to arrest a run of four successive defeats which have left the promoted side now just two points above the drop zone.

Goalkeeper John Ruddy found himself in the spotlight following a mistake which led to a late 2-1 loss at Manchester City last weekend, when Neil's men had been just minutes away from a hard-earned point.

Neil accepts he must be ruthless in team selection to find the right combination for the battles ahead, with matches against Chelsea and Arsenal to come following the international break.

"Every player's place is under threat. If they are not performing as well as I think they should be then obviously questions are going to be asked and whether they should continue," Neil said at a press conference.

"John is no different just because he is a goalkeeper. It is something you always consider.

"The one thing I would say is that John hasn't made a great deal of errors since I have been here.

"To be fair he has been relatively solid and steady so to lay the blame just at his door is unfair."

Neil will be forced into at least a couple of changes against the Swans.

Captain Russell Martin serves a suspension following the defender's red card against City for deliberate handball after Ruddy's gaff which resulted in a penalty to the hosts, coolly converted by Yaya Toure to keep them top of the table.

Matt Jarvis is also unavailable after the winger, on loan from West Ham, suffered knee ligament problems in the first half at the Etihad Stadium.

Swansea boss Garry Monk has urged his side to show belief in their own ability as they bid to start climbing the table at Carrow Road.

The Welsh club go into the game with just one win in seven league games and pressure growing on the manager who led them to eighth place and their highest top-flight points tally last term.

Monk is convinced good results against Chelsea and Manchester United prove little has changed since last season's storming campaign, but says the time has come for his players to start producing on a weekly basis.

Monk said: "If you look at our performances against the bigger teams this season we have performed really well and played some of our best football but against teams around our level, we have not performed how we should.

"There's no excuse - it's about the players mentally preparing themselves to deliver the performances they have done in those (big) games.

"We have worked a lot on our mentality and our strength as a group, and we have to have the courage and the bravery to go out and play our way and impose ourselves.

"When we do that we are a handful for anyone and we are a very dangerous team, and it is about reminding the players of that."

Monk once again has a fully-fit squad to choose from and indicated he will keep faith in striker Bafetimbi Gomis who has not scored since the win over Manchester United at the end of August.

Monk said: "I've got great confidence in Bafe. The whole team needs to work better to create chances for him."