?Tom Carroll has hailed the influence and calming presence of Swansea stalwart Leon Britton after the south Wales club completed a remarkable escape from Premier League relegation.
The January transfer signing from Tottenham claimed that it was the club captain’s leading by example that helped give the Swans the extra push needed to pull off a miraculous escape from returning to the Championship.
In quotes published by ?Wales Online, Carroll admitted that Britton’s experience – particularly in the middle of the park – was vital in helping Paul Clement’s men retain the top flight status as victories over Stoke, Everton and Sunderland, coupled with a draw against Manchester United secured another season of Premier League football.
He said: “Firstly it’s an absolute pleasure to play with him. I was here a couple of years ago and I only got to play with him once or twice.
“He’s a great footballer and he makes us tick. It’s great to be along side him in the middle of the park and obviously he knows a lot about the club and how much it means to the city and the fans.
“It’s been vital having him in there for the last push.”
Britton, who started Swansea’s last five league games, and Carroll were part for the travelling party that enjoyed a two day midweek break in Ibiza as they celebrated Premier League survival.
The Swans were on the cusp of being accused of putting their feet up after maintaining their six-year stay in England’s top division as they found themselves 1-0 down to West Brom with 18 minutes remaining, but goals from Jordan Ayew and Fernando Llorente overturned the score and secured a 2-1 victory on the final day.
Carroll added that the players’ late intervention showed that they did not have their flip flops on after beating Hull to achieving the safety mark, and revealed how great their end-of-season set of results had been.
Swansea City had Guidolin and Bradley in charge for half a season and still stayed up. That is probably football’s greatest miracle ever!!!!
— Guto Llewelyn (@GutoLlewelyn) May 14, 2017
He beamed: “We didn’t just want to act like we were on the beach after last week. We had a lot of pressure on us. We started well, had a dip then finished really strongly (since Carroll returned to the club).
“It’s a great way to end the season. To get a win is great as well. We weren’t in the best position when I came in but the boys stuck together and got the job done so we’re looking forward to being in the Premier League next season.
“We’ve dealt with it (pressure) pretty well but no-one wants to leave it that late. We’ve picked up 29 points since the manager came in which would mean we’re pushing for around eighth spot so we’ve got a lot to look forward to next season. We’ve been through some tough times this season but we’ve pulled through.”
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