SWANSEA CITY defender Dennis Lawrence has backed Roberto Martinez’s FA Cup rotation policy ahead of tomorrow’s second-round trip to non-league Horsham.
Echoing the controversial selection shake-ups of his fellow Spaniard Rafa Benitez at Liverpool, Swans boss Martinez named a much-changed team for the first-round visit to Billericay Town.
Trailing at the interval to the Ryman Premier League part-timers, it looked as if the ploy might backfire in embarrassing circumstances.
But a double blast from stand-in Spanish striker Guillem Bauza spared Swansea blushes and set up another visit to Ryman League opposition, this time to Sussex minnows Horsham.
Exactly 100 places in the pyramid separate League One leaders Swansea and Horsham, seventh in the Ryman Premier, and Martinez is again expected to hand some of his fringe players a run-out at the Atspeed Stadium.
With Alan Tate expected to figure in the centre of defence, Lawrence – who was rested for the 2-1 win at Billericay – could take another breather.
But don’t expect any complaints from the 33-year-old World Cup star, who has been an ever-present in the league this season.
“As players you want to play every game, but when you get to a certain age you obviously can’t do that,” said the Trinidad and Tobago defender.
“Every now and again you’ve got to have a little break, but the important thing is we’ve got players capable of coming in and doing a job – whether it’s the league or the cup.
“If the manager calls on me, I’ll be ready to play. But it’s up to him to decide who he’s going to play in order to get the best result for Swansea City.
“I’m sure whoever he puts in place will do a professional job because that’s the squad we’ve got at the club.”
Lawrence’s desire to play at Horsham might have something to do with his indifferent time in the FA Cup.
The 6ft 7ins defender suffered nothing but misery during his five years at Wrexham, losing to the likes of Yeovil, Scunthorpe and Port Vale in the early stages, before enjoying some overdue success at Swansea last season.
“I wouldn’t say the FA Cup’s been good to me, we didn’t get any good scalps when I was at Wrexham,” he said. “The best run I’ve had was with Swansea last season beating Sheffield United, and we want to do that again because the FA Cup is the prestige cup tournament in the UK.”
Having been ignored for live television coverage at Billericay earlier this month, Swansea must bid to avoid an upset in front of the Sky cameras.
It is the first time Horsham have reached the second round and the compact ground will be at its near-2,900 capacity.
“They are going to be up for the game. It’s live on Sky, so we know we are going to be in for a battle,” said Lawrence.
“But I believe that if we approach the game in the right way then we will get the job done.
“For us, it’s great to be live on Sky, we’re playing in front of the whole country and it’s a chance to show what we can do.
“But it’s still a game of football and we’ve got to be well-prepared because we know it’s not going to be easy.
“In the FA Cup, non-league, league, Championship or Premiership it doesn’t matter because anything can happen.”
But after Tuesday’s 1-0 home win over Hartlepool which took Swansea top of the League One pile, Lawrence believes they are in good shape to meet the challenge head on.
“We will be going into the game in a positive frame of mind on the back end of the Hartlepool result,” he said.
“As a professional team, we’ve got to go there and do what we do best – play football. If we go there with the right approach and attitude, I believe the result will take care of itself.”