'Swansea will be fine - and so will Brighton'

Marcos Painter will have an eye on the Liberty this weekend as two former clubs go head to head in the Premier League.

Left-back Painter played 79 games for Swansea City between 2006 and 2010, then racked up 100 appearances during a three-year stint with Brighton.

Though he came through the ranks at in his native Midlands with Birmingham City, Painter’s happiest days as player came in the colours of the Swans and the Seagulls.

And the 31-year-old, who was forced to retire early because of knee problems, is hoping to see both sides succeed this season.

“I’m looking forward to the game,” Painter said.

“Brighton have just been promoted so everything is new to them, but they’ve done really well to get where they are.

“I think Swansea will be fine again this season. I like the manager – you only have to look at his CV to see what he a good coach he must be.

“I think he will do well this season and of course I hope to see both Swansea and Brighton remain at the top level, because they were the two stand-out clubs in my career.

“The Premier League can be unforgiving at times, but I think both teams will do well.”

Painter was a youngster with limited first-team experience when he joined the Swans, initially on loan, back in 2006.

But he quickly established himself as an important and popular player at the Liberty, where he helped the Swans to the League One title in 2007-08.

Having moved on to Brighton, he won the third tier for the second time in his career.

“I played under some amazing managers during my time with the Swans,” he added.

“Roberto Martinez coming in as manager was unbelievable. He is one of the best I have played under along with Gus Poyet at Brighton.

“The training sessions with Roberto were very enjoyable and he taught me a lot.

“He also brought in some brilliant players including Ferrie Bodde, Dorus de Vries and Angel Rangel, so it was no surprise that we dominated League One and won it by a convincing margin.”

Having retired young, Painter is now embarking on a coaching career in Birmingham’s academy.

You can read his full interview in this weekend’s Jack Magazine.