Ivan Juric makes surprising claim about rotating players against Swansea | OneFootball

Head Coach Ivan Juric plans to name his strongest lineup for the Swansea match. Juric revealed that he doesn't view the FA Cup game for rotating players.

Today is another Southampton matchday, though not in the Premier League. The Saints have witnessed enough hardships already in the Premier League, so the weekend FA Cup game is a welcome break.

Still, the Swansea match holds enough importance for Southampton's struggling campaign. A win here could see the Saints flying. A loss could be a devastating blow for the rest of the season.

Furthermore, Ivan Juric's era at Southampton has seen three consecutive defeats already. Thus, there are doubts over whether Juric prepares to rest some key players or wants to take his first win as the Saints boss.

The manager seems to prefer the latter, at least for now.

Ivan Juric makes surprising claim about rotating players against Swansea

Asked about whether he would aim to rotate the lineup, Juric made a surprising claim and dismissed the idea.

As quoted by the Daily Echo, Juric said: "I don't want to rest players. I think I have 17 or 18 players, maybe more, that are competitive and there is no big difference between one or the other."

Recently, Southampton legend Francis Benali also criticised the club's recruitment approach of signing similar profile players. Now, Juric also insists that there isn't much difference in quality among certain lineup positions.

Clearly, Southampton has too many players who are still Championship level, at best. The jump from the Championship to the Premier League is huge, and it is safe to say that the Saints didn't do much homework in the pre-season to ensure a smooth transition.

Still, there is a lot left to play for. Assuming that Southampton emerge victorious against Swansea, this FA Cup game could fuel inspiration in the team for the Premier League matches.