South Wales Evening Post

Hard-running Swansea City star Leon Britton has revealed how he turned down a possible career in athletics to concentrate on football.

Britton has been Swansea's star performer in the early days of their Championship adventure thanks to his tireless midfield displays.

The former West Ham youngster was the only Swan to emerge with any significant credit from last Saturday's mauling at the Madejski Stadium, having done all he could to halt Reading's charge.

Britton's boundless display came just four days after another man-of-the-match showing in the derby win over Cardiff City.

Swans watchers have become used to seeing Britton punch above his inconsiderable weight and use possession shrewdly.

But the quality which has shone through most in the last few days is the 26-year-old's ability to run and run.

"I've always had a lot of energy," Britton says.

"I've always been known for my running, even when I was playing Sunday league football.

"Running was something that came naturally to me and I used to do cross-country when I was a kid."

Britton's striding skills saw Belgrave Harriers, the famous athletics club based near his childhood London home, invite him to try out for their team.

"I was about 11 or 12 and I ran a race for them," he adds.

"I think it was the 1500m and I did pretty well, finishing second or third.

"The fella from the club rang me up afterwards and said that maybe I had a talent for running.

"He said they wanted me to run for them again, but I told him I wanted to play football.

"He was moaning at me but I thought running around a track was not as much fun as kicking a ball round a pitch."

Some 15 years on, Swansea are glad Britton preferred studs to spikes.

Signed in the bad old days when Brian Flynn's Swans were battling against relegation, he has matured into one of the stalwarts of Roberto Martinez's side.

He has adapted to the Championship with ease, impressing consistently so far this term despite a flurry of matches.

We shouldn't be surprised.

Britton has always looked a second-tier player-in-waiting and has dominated squad stamina tests since moving to Swansea in 2002.

"I don't eat anything special before games," says Britton, whose stiffest competition for the Liberty long-distance prize just now comes from Shaun MacDonald.

"It's just scrambled eggs and beans for me, which is pretty simple and pretty boring.

"But you have to eat well during the week and you have to make sure you live your life right.

"I drink tons of Powerade and I'm always straight off the training ground when training finishes preserving energy for the weekend.

"If you're playing two games a week, like we are at the moment, the big thing is recovery.

"I train, obviously, but in between training sessions I do nothing else.

"I have ice baths, massages, eat loads of food and drink loads.

"Energy is a big part of my game so it's vital that I save as much as I can for the next game."

The approach has worked so far this season, with Britton able to make his mark in the Championship despite the fact that at 5ft 5in, he is regularly dwarfed by opponents.

The physical presence of Swansea's rivals has been one of the most notable differences following the club's elevation from League One.

Yet Britton has been able to outshine many of the giants.

"Things are going okay for me and I'm happy," he says.

"I feel like I've coped with the step-up so far, which is pleasing because I was moving into the unknown coming into the Championship.

"I always had confidence, but of course you wonder whether you'll be able to cut it.

"There a lot of good players in this league, people who have played in the top flight or who play international football for some strong nations.

"But I feel I've coped so far and I think my confidence will grow and grow as the season goes on.

"Hopefully I will do better and better, but for now I'm just trying to do my bit and help the team because we haven't won a league game for a while."

It is more than five weeks, in fact, and five attempts since Swansea last banked three points in one go.

Their uplifting start to the campaign, where they won two of their first three league fixtures, has given way to a string of frustrating draws and discouraging defeats.

Reading was comfortably the worst day yet, with Swansea caving in so rapidly that the contest was all over by half-time.

"As a team performance, that was the worst we've played in a long, long time," Britton concedes.

"When you lose your concentration like we did against a side like Reading who are strong on set-pieces, you're out of the game in half an hour.

"But we can't dwell on it. We have another tough game against Preston tonight and we have to put things right."