Taylor: Swans squad has "stepped up"
7th August
Neil Taylor says Swansea City have "stepped up again" on the eve of their fifth season in the Barclays Premier League.
The Swans kick-off the 2015-16 against reigning champions Chelsea as the two teams go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge on Saturday (5.30pm).
Garry Monk strengthened his squad during the summer with the arrival of Andre Ayew, Franck Tabanou, Kristoffer Nordfeldt and Eder as Swansea look to build on last season's record-breaking campaign.
"As a squad I think we have stepped up again," he said. "It's one where people would find it difficult to pick a team - that's due to the amount of quality we have here now, right through from the goalkeepers to the strikers.
"But when you get to this level then its common - not everyone will be happy but competition drives you to do better and its healthy."
"We were in quite early after pre-season and we have put a lot in work in during that time. I think we are as ready as we've ever been and we've prepared as best we can.
"For us as a football club, the key is to get to that safety mark first. If you can get there quickly then you can start to set different targets - which is what we did last season."
Despite being handed a tough start to their fifth Premier League campaign, it is not unknown territory for the Swans squad.
Last season saw them travel to Manchester United on the opening weekend, with Monk's men walking away with a 2-1 win to kick-start what would be a historic campaign in SA1.
And Taylor says the players have nothing to fear when they travel to Stamford Bridge this weekend.
"Obviously last year we had the game against Manchester United and we got off to a great start," he said. "We will look to do the same again this weekend, but we're under no illusions of how good Chelsea are.
"We know that if we go there and play to the best of our ability then we've got a chance of getting a result. We'll be right up for it, the game is on TV and we've got nothing to lose.
"There's no good or bad time to play Chelsea, so it's exciting to start the season there."
