MICHAEL Laudrup has set his sights on a Wembley hat-trick this weekend as Swansea City go in search of Capital One Cup glory.
Swansea are aiming to land a first ever major trophy when they face League Two side Bradford City on Sunday.
And though Laudrup will be getting a first look at the new Wembley when he leads his team out, he is eyeing a treble at the home of English football.
"I had two very good days at the old Wembley," the Swansea manager said. "In '83 it was small Denmark against huge England. We won 1-0 with a penalty from Allan Simonsen, and we qualified instead of England for the European Championship in 1984.
"And then it was May 1992. It wasn't called the Champions League final then. It was the European Cup final and we won in extra time 1-0 against Sampdoria, with Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli in the other side.
"They were two huge results in the old Wembley and I hope Sunday will be the third."
Laudrup's chances of securing another Wembley success suffered a setback yesterday when Chico Flores tried, and failed, to prove his fitness after an ankle injury.
The Spaniard is likely to be sidelined for at least another fortnight — and possibly six more weeks — with the ligament problem he suffered against Queens Park Rangers, and that leaves Laudrup facing a big decision over who to pick in central defence alongside Ashley Williams.
"It's a difficult decision for me," he added.
"I think if you ask me about the team on Sunday, I am almost there in my mind — but it's not easy.
"I will tell the players when we have our tactical meeting on Sunday, which is normal."
Laudrup is trying his best to keep everything normal in the lead-up to one of the biggest games in Swansea's 101-year history.
His squad will train as usual in Landore tomorrow before heading along the M4 and staying in the same hotel they have used for most of their London games this season.
Ideally the players would have made a pre-match visit to Wembley, but the only opportunity to do so was this morning, and that was deemed too early by the Swansea management.
"We have to try to keep this week as normal as possible," Laudrup stressed.
"We will train as normal here and then go up to London on Saturday afternoon. We will have dinner, sleep and then try to have a normal day before the game.
"As far as preparation goes it is business as usual, but it goes without saying that for the players, this game will be different.
"You can see that in training, and I'm sure when we get to Wembley we will be able to see that as well.
"Some of the players will be more quiet than usual, some will try to be the same as they always are. This is a special game for them, and they can't wait for Sunday afternoon to come."
