de Guzman is raring to go

Jonathan de Guzman says he is looking forward to getting his pre-season programme underway when the Swans face ADO Den Haag on Saturday.

The Dutch international has returned to the Liberty Stadium for a second spell, after spending last year on loan from Spanish side Villarreal.

The midfielder scored eight goals in 47 appearances last season as the Swans finished ninth in the Barclays Premier League and lifted the Capital One Cup.

Michael Laudrup was keen to bring him back to SA1 for another spell and de Guzman linked up with the Swans' tour party on Monday at their base in Den Haag.

And after watching Wednesday's crushing 10-0 win over Haaglandia, de Guzman declared he is relishing the chance to get back in the fold.

"It's great to be back," he said. "It's what I wanted and it feels good to be back training with the players again.

"Last season went well and I was very happy. But I'm looking forward to coming back and having another good season with Swansea.

"Even though I played a couple of games for the Dutch national side at the end of the season, I still need to get up to speed.

"I only started training a couple of days ago so its case of getting fit and on a par with the other lads and get some minutes under my belt against Den Haag."

One of five new signings, de Guzman joins Spanish trio Jose Canas, Alejandro Pozuelo and Jordi Amat along with England international Jonjo Shelveyat the Liberty this summer.

Laudrup was keen to strengthen his squad ahead of battling on four fronts this season, and all of his arrivals have settled in well during the club's trip to the Netherlands.

And de Guzman believes having a good squad is crucial as the Swans look to take their attractive brand of football into this year's Europa League.

"By the sounds of it we've been progressing very well," he said. "Everyone seems to be singing from the same page and that's what we want going into the new season.

"We want to have a stronger team than we did last year and it looks like we're on the right path.

"We have set high standards for ourselves and playing in the Europa League, we are going to have a lot of games.

"But with the team we have now, and the players we have brought in, I think we are stronger than we were last season."