Angel Rangel says there were never any doubts about Paulo Sousa inside the club

The Swansea City defender is once again an important part of the Swansea team despite all the speculation in the summer that he may have been the subject of interest from elsewhere.

That never materialised and Rangel remains at the club he joined just over two years ago when Roberto Martinez bought him to South Wales.

And he has revealed that he is only too happy to see the Swans rising up the table after a shaky start that saw some critical of the new manager - criticism that he says never came from the dressing room.

"I think we never had doubts about the manager inside the club," he told the Evening Post.

"Everyone at the club knew he was a fantastic player who has great experience and so much knowledge.

"And now he is proving himself to be a good manager.

"He is doing things in a friendly way — he is a good person and everyone understands him.

"I think that thanks to the small details he looks at, we are getting success.

"He has worked hard on set-pieces," Rangel adds.

"We conceded too many goals from set-pieces last season, but the manager is very good on them.

"We are much stronger in that area than we used to be and that's important for us.

"He works on the shape of the team before each game," Rangel explains.

"He studies the teams we play against very well, and he shows us their biggest strengths.

"He is very good at that, and I think that's what the team needed this season.

"We have the quality to play football, we know that, but it's not just about when we have the ball.

"We needed to be stronger when we didn't have possession and now when we lose the ball, everyone works hard for each other.

"The gaffer now has got to know the squad very well.

"He knows what the players can give to him and at the moment he is doing fantastically well.

"Thanks to him we are getting good results and we are all happy with that.

"We played the complete game on Tuesday," reckons Rangel.

"We did everything in every role on the pitch.

"We are happy with that, but we know we need to keep things going.

"Four points from two away games with a home game next is a good position to be in, but now we have to win again."

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