Players must stand up and be counted, says Swansea City captain Ashley Williams

Ashley Williams has called on his team-mates to stand up and be counted as the Swans head towards the halfway stage of the season.
The Swans take in two consecutive home games either side of Christmas Day, with West Ham visiting the Liberty on Sunday (4pm) before West Brom travel to SA1 on Boxing Day.
Despite a hugely encouraging performance last weekend, Williams and co left the Etihad Stadium point-less following a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City courtesy of a last-gasp deflected goal.
It means the Swans, who continue the search for a new manager, go into the weekend's game above the relegation zone only on goal difference.
And Williams stressed now is the time for all players to roll their sleeves up and help push the club back up the table.



"We all understand the position we are in. It's not the time to freeze - it's the time to stand up, show character and heart to get us out of this position," said the Swans skipper.
"The talking needs to stop and we need to act on the pitch."
With two games at the Liberty next on the agenda, Williams underlined the importance of taking full advantage of home form.
The Swans made an encouraging start to the campaign with wins over Newcastle and Manchester United in the opening two games on home soil.
And the 31-year-old feels it's vital the Liberty is made a fortress once again.



"It's about getting back to what we have done for years at home, and that's playing on the front foot and winning games," he said.
"We haven't been playing like we've done in the past. We've not pressed the ball enough and kept hold of it, which is very disappointing.
"It's hard to see why things haven't gone the way we wanted, but confidence is probably a factor. You can only play like that when you're confident, so we're working hard on getting that back.
"Last weekend was much better, and we're trying to get back to that level again.
"In the situation we are in, we need to go all out.
"We've tried to feel our way into games in the past and it hasn't worked. For us, especially at home, we need to start the game well and get on the front foot and take the game to West Ham.
"That's what we did at Manchester City, and we were unlucky.
"If we maintain that level of performance then more often than not we'll get the points."

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