Guidolin has lifted the mood at Swansea, says Williams

REUTERS – New head coach Francesco Guidolin has lifted the mood at Swansea City with the players keen to prove their worth to the Italian, captain Ashley Williams said after Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League win over Everton.

Before the 60-year-old’s arrival Swansea were in dreadful form, having picked up just one win in their last 12 games in all competitions and being knocked out of the FA Cup by fourth- tier Oxford United.

Since the Guidolin’s appointment, however, Swansea have moved out of the relegation zone with victories over Watford, where he watched from the stands, and Everton.

“It has probably been about a new guy coming in, everyone gets buzzing again looking to impress,” Williams told British media.

“A new manager comes in and a lot of people liven up trying to impress him, that is only human nature. The players who want to get into the team want to show him what they can do.”

Having picked up back-to-back league wins for the first time this season, Swansea, who are 15th in the table and four points above the bottom-three, travel to West Bromwich Albion on Feb. 2.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)