Carlos proud as Swans turn on the style

Carlos Carvalhal paid tribute to his players’ attitude after Swansea City romped into round five of the Emirates FA Cup with an 8-1 thumping of Notts County.

The Swans chalked up their biggest victory since they beat Sliema Wanderers 12-0 in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1982.

Tammy Abraham and Nathan Dyer each scored twice to give the Swans a 4-1 lead at half-time, with Noor Husin netting for the visitors.

Kyle Naughton, Wayne Routledge, Tom Carroll and debutant Dan James then found the target as the Swans sealed their most emphatic domestic victory since an 8-0 triumph over Hartlepool in 1978.

And a delighted Carvalhal felt his team’s mental approach was the key to their success.

“I am very happy of course and very proud of players,” said the Swans boss.

“I talked with the players before the game. I said to them that it’s normal to play with high motivation when they play against Liverpool, Arsenal or Tottenham.

“But our challenge as coaches is to motivate players for this kind of game where they play against a team below them in the league.

“Often the surprises come in the cup when players do not completely focus, and I told the players that was their challenge – to prove they want to compete, with pride and self-motivation.

“It was a chance to show everybody how much they want to win and want to perform, and they did that.”

The Swans were 3-0 up inside 30 minutes, but had to cope with a brief spell of pressure after Husin’s 35th-minute goal.

But Abraham’s second of the night in first-half stoppage time put the hosts back in control and they dominated the second period.

“You know when you play against a team from a lower level that if you play to your level, it will be difficult for them,” Carvalhal added.

“Notts County are a good side. They are doing very well – they knocked Brentford out of the cup away from home and they gave us a difficult game last week.

“But tonight we played at the same level we did against Arsenal and Liverpool. The attitude was very good and the dynamic was very strong.

“This result was not because of what Notts County did, it was difficult for them because of the way we played.

“Our offensive organisation was very good and our defensive organisation was good.

“When we lost the ball our transitions were very strong. We won the ball and we tried to go forward with the first pass.

“We scored a lot of goals and the players jumped to another level creatively.”