South Wales Evening Post

If the pundits are to be believed, Swansea City are in for a season to match the Welsh summer.

The odd bright spot, maybe, but generally gloomy with darker times ahead.

Fortunately for the thousands of Swans brimming with enthusiasm on the eve of a new campaign, footballing experts regularly talk rubbish.

Fortunately, Swansea have a bright young manager who is intent on proving the grim forecasts wrong.

"It's normal that not many people are talking about Swansea doing anything in the Championship," Roberto Martinez says.

"When you are on the outside you go by names and on how much money has been spent.

"I have never seen anyone from the national press at one of our training sessions.

"I don't think they know how we work.

"It would be a surprise to me if anyone came out and said Swansea City will do well in the Championship. It would surprise me and it would show a fantastic knowledge of the game."

Martinez is not about to shout about it, but the suggestion that anyone tipping Swansea to go well knows what they are on about hints at the confidence he has got.

His followers must hope the Liberty's own pundit - Martinez still finds time to work on Sky Sports' La Liga coverage - is shrewder than most.

"Our challenge this season is to make people realise who we are," he adds.

"We did things in League One not many people expected last season.

"We competed against clubs like Nottingham Forest and Leeds who were miles ahead in terms of facilities and budgets, and we need to do the same again this year."

Martinez is typically cagey when it comes to where Swansea might finish up in 2008-9.

Now is not the time to put undue pressure on his players, or to make bold claims which may return to haunt at a later date.

"It would be foolish to predict how we will finish," Martinez declares.

"We want to be competitive, we want to try to match whoever we play on the day.

"But we have a few new faces and we need to gel. We need to see where we are in February or March and then we can think about aims for the end of the season.

"Right now our aims are to try to improve in every department and to be as good as we can."

The Championship is a notoriously difficult division to predict.

Few if any were backing Stoke to win promotion this time last year, after all, and anyone who had cash on Bristol City and Hull meeting in the play-off final may just be returning from a particularly luxurious summer holiday.

Similarly, not many of last year's pre-season specials would have had Leicester scrapping it out with Coventry and Southampton to avoid relegation on the final day.

Yet Martinez is prepared to pick out two clubs to watch in the race for the Premier League.

"Birmingham," he says. "They have a squad which is better than a couple that are in the top division now and I think they will be strong.

"And Reading will always do well under Steve Coppell, because he is someone special. He knows what is required in this league and he will always get the best out of his players."

Martinez does add that there are at least 10 other sides who have promotion potential in a league where the margin between success and failure is thin.

"A few teams have Premier League parachute payments which give them a little advantage," reckons the Spaniard.

"But after that anyone can beat anyone else and that's proper football.

"That's why we shouldn't feel that we're a long way from anyone and we shouldn't fear anyone.

"We have to respect everyone we come up against, but we also have to make sure we're ourselves."

That will be the challenge tomorrow at Charlton Athletic, one of those post-Premier sides - they were in with the big boys only 15 months ago - whose fans will expect Swansea to be swatted aside. Martinez has other ideas, and will travel to the capital today believing Swansea can begin where they left off last season on the road - with victory.

"It's going to be a huge test playing against a side who are very good at home," he insists.

"They are one of a number of clubs in this division who will think they are better than the Championship as a club and we need to be prepared for that.

"But as I say, our first challenge is trying to make sure we are ourselves."

Martinez's plans for a first second-tier outing in 24 years have been hit by injuries to Angel Rangel and Gorka Pintado, while Jason Scotland is only fit enough for the bench.

Yet there are plenty of big calls to be made, with Dorus de Vries, Garry Monk and Ferrie Bodde probably the only players heading east believing they are guaranteed a start.

Martinez claims even he won't be certain of his team until a final assessment tomorrow morning.

He believes his players will be struck by an increase in tempo tomorrow, and that they will not enjoy as much possession as they did last term.

But Martinez is adamant Swansea will not go on the defensive - "It's not in our make-up," he says - in search of success this season.

And what would success be?

"Just to grow," Martinez adds.

"To grow as a squad, to grow as a club and to be competitive at Championship level.

"At the moment that would be a huge success."