Russell Martin | We need to be prepared to fight

Russell Martin has told his Swansea City side they will need to show all their fighting and battling qualities if they are to record a fourth home win in succession against Peterborough this afternoon.

The Posh visit the Swansea.com Stadium having climbed out of the Championship relegation zone courtesy of consecutive wins over Hull and QPR.

Those results have provided a timely boost for Darren Ferguson’s side, who were promoted from League One at the end of last season, and they will have every intention of keeping that run going in SA1.

The Swans have lost just once on home turf all season, and most recently registered stirring victories over Cardiff and West Brom in their own back yard.

But head coach Martin knows they will need to subdue a visiting side who have proven a competitive proposition in the majority of games on their return to the second tier.

“They just show that you can have two good results and it can make a big difference to how things look in the table and propel you up the league,” said Martin.

“They will pose a real threat, they did a brilliant job in getting promoted last year and they are fighting to try and make sure they stay in this league for at least another year.

“They have been competitive in every game, they may not have been winning as much as they would like but they have been in every game.

“They are difficult to play against, they have a lot of energy and some really good players.

“They also have a manager who I have a lot of respect for having worked with him earlier in my career.

“So, it will be a tough test, but the test for us is to turn it into the sort of game we want it to be at home.”

For Martin, the game pitches him against one of his former clubs and one of his former managers.

The former defender was skipper under Ferguson when they secured promotion from League One back in 2009, and the pair retain a strong mutual respect for each other.

But Martin will be looking to spoil the party for his old boss on what will be the occasion of his 500th match in charge of the Posh.

“We have had plenty of chats over the years, I really enjoyed working with him and I learned a lot from him over the years,” he said.

“He was brilliant, he was at the start of his managerial career and it does not surprise me that he has gone on to manage as many games as he has, and I think this is his 500th in charge and that is an incredible feat.

“I have a lot of respect for him, he showed a lot of faith for me and he made me his captain at a young age.

“It was massive for me, and we had a great season that ended with us getting promoted.

“He was great to work with, I came up against him a couple of times last season, and I look forward to catching up with him after the game.”