'New boss has given us a lift'

Alfie Mawson hopes Carlos Carvalhal’s positive approach will shine through on the pitch when Swansea City take on Watford this weekend.

The Carvalhal era begins when the Swans head for Vicarage Road tomorrow.

And Mawson has fingers crossed that the new manager’s upbeat outlook will have an immediate impact.

Carvalhal has had only two training sessions with his new players since agreeing to take charge at the Liberty Stadium, but has already made a strong impression.

“We are excited to get going under the new gaffer,” Mawson said.

“He seems a really nice guy. He is very enthusiastic and very energetic and as a squad we needed that lift.

“He is very bright and vibrant. It’s good to have a bit of positivity around the place and hopefully we can feed off that.

“He wanted to get down here on Thursday so he could take the game on Saturday. He wants to get stuck in and that’s good to see as players.

“He wants us to work hard, believe in ourselves and have confidence.

“You can see he wants to train us and improve us. That’s a massive positive.”

Carvalhal’s first move after arriving at the Swans’ Fairwood training base was to hold a meeting with his playing squad.

“He said to us that we cannot play with fear,” Mawson revealed.

“He said we have to have confidence against the big teams, to believe that we can go to places like the Etihad and compete.

“Then, if we do that, it will give us belief when we play the sides who are around us.

“Now it’s down to us believe we can achieve what we did last season.

“We have plenty of good footballers here, but the crucial thing is that we believe in ourselves.”