South Wales Evening Post

Roberto Martinez hailed the special reception delivered to Ferrie Bodde by Swansea City fans, before declaring: "It's water under the bridge now."

The Dutch midfielder was given a rousing welcome at The Gnoll on Wednesday night during Swansea's 5-0 friendly victory over Neath.

Fears over the supporters' stance on Bodde's transfer saga this summer were quickly quashed as they handed the 26-year-old a hero-like welcome.

The previous 50 days had involved conflicting views and reports. So many column inches were dominated by the former Den Haag man that no Swansea fan needs a refresher on events.

But this week saw the saga finally come to an end, with Bodde signing a new deal and committing his future to the club.

No-one - Bodde aside - was more pleased than Martinez, who has tipped the midfielder to be a Premier League star of international quality.

Martinez gave Bodde little more than 30 minutes of the second half on Wednesday, and he showed neat interplay along with scoring from the spot after Gorka Pintado had been felled in the box.

Now Martinez, Bodde and the rest can focus on continuing their preparations for the Championship campaign.

"We said all along that we are a family club and one that is very passionate," said the Spaniard.

"The fans can understand the feelings of the players. Ferrie has shown what a man he is by coming out and apologising to the fans, and the fans have accepted him.

"People make mistakes and are responsible for that, but actions speak louder than words and he has signed a longer contract and that has shown his commitment to Swansea City.

"In the past we have had players giving the right words to fans but when the option came they went to another club for financial reasons.

"Without a doubt the relationship between Ferrie and the fans will be stronger now. He has gone away from the financial grounds and signed for footballing reasons. That's a great compliment to the club and especially the fans.

"They made him very welcome since the beginning of last season. He wants to repay them."

Swansea have been told they have an allocation of 3,000 tickets for the opening Championship match at Charlton, despite expecting 3,300 tickets.

The club have sold 2,700 already and have warned no further tickets will be available once the allocation is sold out.