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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Ian Mitchelmore

Russell Martin hopes Swansea City fans are still dreaming as he tells club to get deal sorted after Norwich City thumping

Russell Martin hopes the Jack Army can still dream a top-six place in the Championship is achievable for Swansea City after they thumped 10-man Norwich City 3-0 at Carrow Road.

Goals from Joel Latibeaudiere, Liam Cullen and Olivier Ntcham earned the Swans an emphatic triumph over Martin's former employers - who had Sam McCallum sent off in the first half.

Victory means Swansea have collected 19 of the last 21 points on offer - with Martin's troops now just three points off the play-off places with two games left of the season.

READ MORE: Norwich City 0-3 Swansea City: Latibeaudiere, Cullen and Ntcham goals seal emphatic victory

And while several other sides in the mix have the upper hand when it comes to the hunt for a top-six berth, Martin expressed his delight with his players for getting themselves back into the reckoning with a remarkable resurgence of late.

"I hope so, it'll be nice for them," he said when asked if fans can still dream of a top six place.

"We have to win two games still. We're on an outstanding run, to win six in seven games, five clean sheets in that after the run we went on, I'm so grateful for that.

"The players are having a lot of fun and we're having a lot of fun watching them. We've just got to keep that going now."

Latibeaudiere and Ryan Manning - who are both out of contract in the summer - were once again pivotal to Swansea's efforts against David Wagner's outfit. The former netted his second goal of the campaign to put the visitors ahead while the Irishman claimed two assists in another hugely productive showing.

And while Martin once again stated that Manning is unlikely to extend his stay with the Swans, the head coach implored the club's owners to tie down Latibeaudiere to fresh terms.

"Ryan Manning has so much quality, assists, goals, wherever he's played," said Martin. "He's been so good.

"I just don't think we can get to a financial position that will keep Ryan here. With Joel Latibeaudiere we can and we should. We need to.

"It's a source of frustration for me at the moment that we haven't got that done. If I was in charge of it, he would have that.

"His attitude, professionalism, character, commitment to us in what we do, he's a leader and a cultural architect. Now he's settled into a position he's been incredible.

"I implore us to do that, and we need to do that because you can't let someone like that go out of the building. We have to get that done."

And on his side's success against the Canaries, Martin commented: "It was a beautiful day for us all, the team, the fans who travelled, it's a long way, I'm just really grateful to the players and I'm so proud of them.

"We started the game a little bit sloppy but after that, when the lads showed real care for each other with the ball, we were brilliant, even with 11v11.

"We deserved to be 2-0 up in my opinion. We scored a brilliant goal, Liam Cullen's goal is an outstanding team goal. Then the player gets sent off and it's a test of mentality.

"You can go gung ho to try and sore four or five, but Norwich still pose a threat with the players they've got on the pitch, so the discipline and mentality to keep working until the moment arrives naturally rather than trying to force it, the ball speed, I'm really proud of them. It made it an easier 45 minutes than it could have been.

"We score an outstanding goal with Olivier as well. I'm really grateful that they've given us all a day like that."

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