NEIL Taylor hopes to step out in Europe tonight after a summer trip to the subcontinent.
Taylor is tipped to make his first start at the Liberty Stadium in just under A year against Petrolul Ploiesti in the Europa League.
A place in Michael Laudrup's XI would be reward for a close season where Taylor spent much of his time working on his fitness.
But the left-back also managed to fit in a trip to India, the homeland of his mother, where he tried to play a part in nurturing future footballing talent.
Taylor was part of the Premier League's Premier Skills Kolkata Goalz Project, which aims to promote the game among youngsters in India.
"It was just a two-day trip although it felt like I was out there for ages," says Taylor, whose mother is from Kolkata and who has relatives living in India.
"I did some charity work, some work helping local footballers, and just saw the whole set-up in India, how it works.
"I just wanted to find out why more players aren't produced from that end of the world, from that area.
"Is it not in their genes? Do they want to do something else? Are they brought up to concentrate on the academic side of things and not to follow a career in sport like we do over here in the UK?
"I found out that they do love football. I thought it was just cricket. They even play rugby, which I didn't think would be in them, but they do play it."
Taylor is one of the few players of an Indian background operating in the Premier League.
Appeal
But it was not just his story that the Kolkata locals were familiar with.
Such is the top flight's global appeal, they were clued up about all things Swansea, and asked Taylor about the likes of Michu and Ashley Williams.
It was the first time in 15 years Taylor had visited the country, and he discovered a place very different from the one he remembered.
"In monsoon season all they play is football because they can't play cricket," the 24-year-old adds.
"They get 80,000 in Kolkata for their rival games, so there is scope there.
"Everyone goes to Africa to scout, to Europe, and even as far as Korea with people like Ki (Sung-Yueng). There are lots of Korean and Chinese players in English football.
"In that area of the world (India), is there anyone worth taking? Surely there are one or two.
"Do they get the opportunity? That's what I wanted to know.
"When I was last there as a kid all I remembered about it was cricket. It has changed a lot since then."
Taylor is planning another trip to India next summer, but must first focus on Swansea's European journey.
Laudrup's side are hardly likely to cover as much distance as Taylor did during his jaunt to Asia, but some of their destinations will be equally unfamiliar.
Petrolul are a side playing in an unfashionable league starved of international media coverage and boast no household names among their squad.
Information on Swansea's opponents will be patchy compared to the in-depth analysis that accompanies every Premier League game.
That is all part of the Europa League challenge.
"At this early stage it is a step into the unknown, but it might be the same for them, they might have to do a bit of research on us," reckons Taylor.
"We'll do our preparations, but the focus will probably be on ourselves.
"I've played in Eastern Europe with Wales and everything's different — the food, weather, the pitches, the locals, how the crowds react — everything.
"It's a lot more hostile in some ways, but I think we've got players to deal with that, players who have played in Europe before and players who have played international matches.
"We'll be fine in that aspect, but we also have to be strong at home."
Much has been made of the extra demands a Continental campaign will place on Swansea this season.
And that issue is unlikely to be brought more glaringly into focus than by looking at their workload this week.
An opening top-tier match against champions Manchester United is followed by a trip to big spending Spurs on Sunday, with this Petrolul clash in between.
"It's going to be tough this season, but we want it to be tough," Taylor adds.
"We want to make the Europa League group stages and these games help you recover from losses like Saturday.
"You can have a different game and get away from the Premier League.
"Sometimes you can fall out of a competition and have to wait a week to ten days for your next match, that's horrible when you've lost.
"Hopefully this can be used as a platform."
And Taylor reckons Swansea are better equipped than most to deal with a packed season schedule.
They have recruited well over the summer, assembling a squad with an emphasis on quality over quantity.
There are now two genuine contenders for almost every position, with more movement into the Liberty likely before the transfer window closes.
But Taylor believes Swansea's strength lies not in the personnel changes Laudrup has made but the stability Swansea have enjoyed as far as philosophy is concerned.
"I think our style of play helps us to make the change from the fast pace of the Premier League to it maybe being a little bit slower in Europe," he says.
"That may suit us better than other teams from this country who have played in Europe.
"Petrolul are obviously a good side to get this far and they'll be coming here knowing if they can get a goal it makes it a lot easier for them back home.
"Just to replicate what we did in the last round is the target. If we can do that, perfect.
"We have to make sure we don't concede or at least win the game. Winning 2-1 is so much different from winning 2-0 with that away goal.
"We can't panic if they do score, but we have to try to make sure we don't concede and certainly don't concede many."
![Swansea City's Neil Taylor focuses on Europe after trip to subcontinent]( "Swansea City's Neil Taylor focuses on Europe after trip to subcontinent")
