SWANSEA players are bracing themselves for the crunch on Wednesday in their bitter dispute with the club's new owner Tony Petty.

That is the last day of the month - pay day for the players - and captain Nick Cusack admitted: "Until we get our payslips and see the money in the bank we just can't be certain that we will be paid.

"The players are desperate for their wages. We have families to look after and mortgages to pay. The way the players have been treated already is disgraceful. I don't know what the reaction would be if there was no money for us."

The players would be allowed by law to refuse to keep playing for the crisis-torn Third Division club until those wages are paid.

The more realistic action would be for their union, the PFA, to take the case to court.

Petty insisted last night: "All my actions have been necessary to keep football alive in Swansea. We've shed people we simply couldn't afford to keep.

"I know I've devastated many individuals but what has happened will save us.

"It's nonsense to suggest I don't care about my club's league status. At the very least, we'll still be in Division Three next season.

"That will happen, even if I have to pull on the boots myself and play."

SWANSEA CITY defender Mathew Bound, one of the seven players "sacked" by Tony Petty earlier this month, last night warned the club's controversial new chairman - "I won't join any old club".

One of the highest-paid players at the club, Bound is one of several players Petty is looking to offload in a bid to cut back costs at the Vetch.

Petty has just sold winger Stuart Roberts to Wycombe Wanderers for £100,000 but with the Swans losing a reputed £3,000 a week that money will soon disappear from the club coffers.

Bound and goalkeeper Roger Freestone are favourites to leave Swansea next, but the 28-year-old said, "I've got a big part to say about what happens to me.

"It won't be a case of me going anywhere. I'll only make a move that suits me.

"The chairman is looking to get rid of certain players and I don't think the club is even looking to get fees for them.

"He just wants them to move on and being one of the sacked ones I'm probably in that bracket.

"It's just a case of waiting and seeing what happens in the next couple of weeks. At the end of the day leaving Swansea will be my decision because I've still got a year-and-a-half left on my contract.

"But I would like to stay with Swansea. I'm settled here and I wouldn't have signed a three-year contract last year if I wasn't happy at the Vetch."

Bound and his team-mates face Joe Kinnear's Luton Town at Kenilworth Road today and the Hatters could go top of the Third Division if they beat the Swans.

"The initial shock of being sacked has gone but there are still these little things at the back of your mind," added the former Southampton and Stockport player.

"It would be nice if the off-the-field problems could get sorted out quickly.

"But to be honest, ever since I came to Swansea four years ago there have been things going on behind the scenes. There has always been some sort of distraction.

"At the moment everything is topsy-turvy. We're wondering who is going to be the next player to leave the club.

"We've just got stay focused, get our heads down and be professional. That way we might turn the corner."

Bound, born in Bradford-on-Avon, was a key member of the Swansea side that won the Third Division championship last year.

His formidable central-defensive partnership with Jason Smith, which helped the side keep a record 22 clean sheets, played a huge part in Swansea's success that season.

Bound has recently been linked with a move to Football League newcomers Rushden & Diamonds but their manager, Brian Talbot, admitted he could not afford Bound's wages.

"To be fair, ever since Tony Petty took over the club our performances have been good. We murdered Rochdale but lost. We played Brighton off the park but lost," said Bound.

"We let ourselves down against Leyton Orient last week but we beat Darlington on Tuesday and played some good football.

"We've responded to the new gaffer (Colin Addison). He and his assistant, Peter Nicholas, have come in with new and fresh ideas and sometimes you need that. It gives all the lads a kick up the back-side."

Swans manager Addison will be boosted by the return of defender Smith and midfielder Damien Lacey, who have recovered from their respective ankle and foot injuries.

Luton are among the favourites to win automatic promotion but Addison's men will be hoping to emulate Rochdale last weekend and leave Kenilworth Road with all three points.

COLIN Addison has warned his Swansea City players that they must defuse the explosive threat of French winger Jean-Louis Valois when they take on Luton Town tomorrow.

"I have not seen him myself, but I've heard he is dynamite," said the Swans boss.

"We have had Luton watched and I understand he is a very good player."

A free transfer signing from Lille, Valois has been the talk of the Third Division this season since inspiring Luton to a 5-1 victory over Torquay on his debut. The 28-year-old has been chief supplier in Luton's impressive tally of 34 goals already this term.

Throughout the Nationwide League, only Manchester City can match the scoring feats of Joe Kinnear's side.

Luton have been denied only once in the league — in the top-of-the-table clash with Rochdale last weekend — and Addison knows Swansea face a tough task keeping them at bay tomorrow.

"They have got a lot of good players, they are a very talented side with a very experienced manager," he added.

"They are a team in form and it's going to be a very difficult game. To get a result we will have to show respect."

"We might have to drive the team bus across the six-yard box to keep them out," he joked.

The absence of Kris O'Leary, who starts a two-match ban, will not aid Swansea's cause, but influential centre-back Jason Smith could make his first start since March having finally recovered from an ankle ligament injury.

Young defender Neil Sharp, signed on a free transfer from Merthyr yesterday, will definitely be in the squad.

"Neil is a good boy and he is a very promising young player. We are glad to have brought him to the club," said Addison.

"Jason came through the friendly with Cardiff on Wednesday and he is a possibility."

Another boost for Swansea is the news that Nathan Tyson, who had expected to play his last game for the club tomorrow, will spend a third month on loan at the Vetch.

The 19-year-old grabbed his first league goal in Tuesday's much-needed victory over Darlington. "That win has given us all a lift. We have deserved better in other games and not got it. It all came together the other night," added Addison.

"Now we have to try to build on that result. It will be hard, but we've played a lot of the top teams and done quite well. We are looking forward to the challenge."

NATHAN Tyson has an added incentive to turn on the style again this weekend.

The livewire youngster travels to Luton with a new confidence — after scoring a 25-yard special in midweek — and a point to prove.

Because prior to joining current club Reading, he was told by Luton that he would never make it.

With Luton since relegated to the Nationwide League basement and Tyson securing a deal at Second Division big guns Reading, the 19-year-old has had the last laugh.

Now he is planning to twist the knife.

"I was released as a schoolboy by Luton. They said I wasn't good enough," explained Tyson.

"The old youth team manager made my confidence sink to an all time low. Now I have got the chance to go back and show them what I can do.

"I have played against Luton once already this year for Reading and I absolutely terrorised them with my pace.

"Hopefully I'll be in the side tomorrow and I'll get my own back again.

"If I can get another goal and we get another win I'll be chuffed because I can turn round and say ‘Why didn't you sign me as a young lad?"

Tyson's first goal for Swansea — indeed his first in league football — came in the morale-boosting 2-0 win over Darlington on Tuesday.

He has missed a few chances in his two-month spell at the Vetch and the relief at finding the net was obvious.

"I was gobsmacked myself," he admitted.

"I had had about three chances earlier in the game and everyone kept telling me not to worry and that I would score.

"The wait for my first goal was dragging on and it was on my mind. As soon as I picked up the ball on halfway, I thought ‘Right I'm going for goal.'

"I'm proud to have scored my first career goal in a home game. I've shown the Swansea fans what I can do and that I'm not a no-hoper."

Tyson, whose second month at Swansea comes to an end tomorrow, looks set to return to the Madejski Stadium with Reading boss Alan Pardew considering his options after a slow start to the season.

They have been an eventful eight weeks away from his hometown club, featuring a serious injury scare, a sending-off which was rescinded, a change in management and then the dramas brought by Tony Petty.

But despite all the turbulence, Tyson has enjoyed his time in South Wales.

"If I was a multi-millionaire I'd buy the club myself. It's got great potential," he said.

"What Tony Petty has done is wrong and he needs to treat Swansea like a football club not a business."

SWANSEA City director Mel Nurse has broken his silence over the crisis at the cash-strapped Third Division club.

Speaking exclusively to The Western Mail, the former Swans and Wales defender last night revealed he offered former chairman Mike Lewis a "substantial" amount of money to rescue the Swans.

Nurse claimed Lewis did not consult him or the other two board members - Martin Burgess and David Farmer - before deciding to sell the club to Petty.

And he said former management duo John Hollins and Alan Curtis should share the blame with former owners Ninth Floor plc for offering players contracts the club could not afford.

"Mike must have felt he was doing the right thing, but he should have shared it with the four directors," said Nurse, who runs the Sea Haven Hotel close to the Vetch.

"As a director of a club you like to think you would be consulted. But no directors were involved in the negotiations.

"That is what I would criticise Mike for and I told him I thought he was wrong to keep it to himself."

But Lewis responded, "Mel and all the other directors knew I was talking to Tony Petty and that he was our last chance saloon.

"I didn't want to involve too many people in the takeover, but as soon as it was done the directors were told about the deal.

"It had to be done quickly otherwise Tony Petty would have hopped on the first plane back to Australia.

"If Mel was saying that he wasn't in the room when the deal was done that's true."

Nurse - who was capped 12 times by Wales between 1960 and 1964 and played 257 league games for the Swans in two spells from 1955 to 1962 and 1968 to 1971 - said he offered to rescue the Swans in the summer because of his love for the club.

"I did not want to buy the club because I don't think it should belong to one person," he said.

"I'm not going to reveal figures, but I offered what to me is a substantial amount of money to carry the club forward until such time it would be taken over by the appropriate person.

"I would have done whatever was needed to help Swansea survive and move it forward - probably doing what the supporters trust has done in getting together as bodies to put money in.

"But Mike must have felt Mr Petty would take Swansea forward better than I could.

"I would think Mike, realising it takes a lot of money to run a football club, was attracted to what Mr Petty was offering. He must have thought he would put money in and all the tieups with Australia must have sounded great.

"On the basis of what has happened - how the business has been run - I think Mike has made a mis-take.

"The impression I get is that Mike is having second thoughts. I think he regrets what he has done."

A week after taking control, Petty caused a storm at the Vetch by "sack-ing" seven players and asking eight others to take huge pay cuts.

The Australia-based businessman said the club could not afford their wages and needed to make cutbacks to survive.

Nurse said Ninth Floor plc - which sold Swansea to Lewis for £1 in the summer before he sold it on to Petty - did not deserve all the blame for handing players contracts the club is now struggling to honour.

"It wasn't just Ninth Floor who created problems with contracts - Hollins and Curtis are not exempt from that," said Nurse, who is the only remaining board member from the Lewis era following the departure of Burgess and Farmer.

"You could say the players were greedy, but you can't really blame them because if you thought you could get more money then you would push for it.

"John (Hollins) was caught between that situation and the board of directors.

"But it is up to the board to oversee things so both parties are happy - it is a combination of the two."

SWANSEA CITY director Mel Nurse offered the club's former chairman Mike Lewis a "substantial six-figure sum" to rescue the Swans before Lewis transferred the club to Tony Petty, it was revealed last night.

Vetch Field legend Nurse, who made more than 250 appearances for the Swans before becoming a successful businessman, made the offer last August.

He hoped his cash injection would tie over the financially ailing club until a new owner was found.

But Lewis said he turned down Nurse's offer because his money "would be disappearing into a black hole." He sold the Swans to the controversial Petty two months later.

"Mel did offer the club money and it was a sincere offer, but I told him he would just be pouring it down a black hole," said the club's former chairman and managing director last night.

Neither Nurse nor Lewis would reveal the exact sum, but The Western Mail understands it was £400,000.

"Mel earned peanuts when he was playing football and he has had to work hard for his money. There was no way I was going to let him throw that money away," added Lewis

"It just wouldn't have been right. How could I have looked him in the eye if, after six months, all his money had gone and nothing had changed?

"It was very reassuring that Mel came forward, but it needed more than just Mel's money to have kept the club going for a year. It needed more than one person.

"As I've said many times, when I took over the club I knocked on doors for help but the doors never opened for me."

Cwmbwrla-born Nurse, who runs the Sea Haven Hotel in the city, became a Swansea director for a second time in December 2000 after he was invited to join the board by former chairman Neil McClure.

"I can remember the day Mel made his offer. It was on Swansea City's golf day and it brought a tear to my eye because at that stage I was getting a no from everybody," said Lewis.

"I sat down with Mel and discussed his offer with him. My initial reaction was to take the money, but I could never face him again if things went wrong.

"I didn't feel right taking money from a man who, as a professional footballer, was only earning £20 a-week.

"I had to tell him it wouldn't have been appropriate for me to take his money because it wouldn't have been a long-term solution, and Mel appreciated that."

Added Lewis, "In my opinion, Mel is a colossus. He was the one and only person who stepped forward and said he was prepared to help me.

"He has only one interest and that's the survival of Swansea City. I have the utmost respect for the man.

"Lots of people came to me and said they wanted to talk, but nothing ever happened.

"If three other people came along with Mel then maybe things would have been different. Mel might have become chairman or the majority shareholder, but there was simply no other support.

"Since Tony Petty has been in charge a lot of people have suddenly come forward to help the club so maybe Mel's money might now have some use."

And Lewis said he had no regrets selling to Petty.

"I'm not saying I would have taken the same route as him, but he has certainly shaken the branches of an old and withering tree," he said.

The swan, the unruffled, regal symbol of Swansea City, has never been less appropriate at the Vetch Field as the club flaps from one state of panic to another.

A brief account of the latest turmoil is as follows: former owners, the London-based security company Ninth Floor Plc, finally cut its losses in the summer and handed the club for £1 to the former commercial manager, Mike Lewis; Lewis found no buyers then sold on the financially crippled club, again for £1, to Tony Petty, a London businessman based in Australia of whom Swansea knows little. Petty flew in from Australia a fortnight ago, sacked seven players and told eight more he is dramatically reducing their wages, then flew back to Brisbane. The Football League told Petty that his actions are against its rules, which protect players' contracts.

More than 1,000 Swansea fans joined a "Petty Out" march through the city last Saturday before John Shuttleworth, a former insolvency practitioner whom Petty appointed as chief executive, cut short his night out in Swansea when he was escorted out of a nightclub for his own protection.

The Swans' brief paddle in the First Division in the 1980s is now long forgotten. That attempt to buy success under John Toshack bequeathed financial problems with which the club's chairman, Doug Sharpe, wrestled for years afterwards. Then, in 1997, during City's short-lived infatuation with football as a ticket to riches, Ninth Floor took over Swansea, talking of taking them into the Premier League and a new stadium to be built by the River Morfa.

So called because they occupy the ninth floor of an office block on Old Marylebone Road, the company, whose main business was windscreens, put some money into developing Swansea's commercial activities. They also funded a £2m wage bill, latterly for a 34-player squad under manager John Hollins, which was relegated to the Third Division last season.

Altogether Ninth Floor lost "north of £5m" on Swansea, according to the chairman, Alan Wix, who said the company had disposed of the club to concentrate on its core businesses of security and IT systems. In the fickle City, football clubs are now embarrassments. "We are a commercial company with profitable businesses and we could not keep going with Swansea in our portfolio," Wix said.

The terms of departure were not ungenerous: the club is saddled with an unsustainable wage bill, but has no debts or overdraft. Ninth Floor handed the club to Lewis together with £200,000, for which they took the security of Swansea's car park and club shop. They are owed a further £800,000, which Wix has said he will not be calling in.

"Whoever is in charge should make us a respectable offer," Wix said, "but it is not in my or anybody else's interests to call the debt in, because that would push Swansea into administration."

Lewis, once Newport County's commercial manager, sacked Hollins and appointed Colin Addison as manager, instructing him to cut Swansea's playing staff to 22.

Nobody, Lewis said, made an offer for the club, and as time and the £200,000 ran out, he said he received a call from Petty, who had read about the club's availability on the internet. Petty flew in from Brisbane, where he has had some involvement in Australian football, keen to do the deal in three days.

He brought with him two directors from the Brisbane Lions who said they might invest in Swansea. The plan is partly about importing cheaper Australian players and hoping to sell them on – two are on trial at the Vetch. Swansea's directors were not consulted. Petty and Lewis did the deal and Petty became Swansea's new chairman.

A week later, he sold Swansea's best player, the Welsh Under-21 forward Stuart Roberts, to Wycombe Wanderers for £100,000, which many in the club saw as a steal, particularly as Swansea had agreed a £250,000 fee with Rotherham during the summer. Petty then told seven players they would not be paid at the end of this month, and eight others that their pay packets would be considerably slimmer. The same night he flew back to Brisbane.

Cue uproar. In August, concerned Swansea fans formed a trust with the help of the Government-backed initiative Supporters Direct. With membership now close to 1,000 strong, the Trust organised last week's demonstration and has called on the local council not to deal with Petty on the Morfa development. More importantly, the Trust has formed a focus for supporters to ask questions about Swansea's affairs.

Companies House records show that Petty, who states his occupation as a stationer, holds no directorship of any British company. Six companies of which he was a director have been dissolved and three are in liquidation. On his form to register his appointment as a Swansea City director, he stated he was a director of a company called Axis Europe Plc and resigned in April 1999.

Mike Lewis, who is staying at home because he fears for his safety after he received abuse from aggressive supporters, was defiant: "Swansea may not recover under Tony Petty, or his measures might work. This club, and football generally, needs drastic action or it faces disaster. None of the people complaining now made offers before. Mr Petty's was the only offer and I had no choice."

Mel Nurse, a Swansea director and centre-half in the 1950s and '60s, criticised Lewis for not consulting the board: "That was a mistake. Then Mr Petty has been very cold and drastic, and acted against League rules. It isn't palatable."

Informed that League rules protect players' contracts, Petty and Shuttleworth sought an agreements with them. The Professional Footballers' Association is understood to have advised the players not to compromise, for fear that they will not then be paid in full if the club goes into administration under Petty. Hollins, the former manager, is in dispute over his pay-off.

Dave Boyle of Supporters Direct said the débâcle demonstrates the need for the Football Association to more closely oversee the sale of football clubs. "Even if the FA were only to require people to explain who they are and their plans, it might at least give everybody a chance to pause and reflect."

Nic Coward, the FA's head of regulation, told a Supporters Direct conference last month there were no plans to introduce any such requirement, even though this has been urged on the FA by two official reports, including the Government's Football Task Force. Coward told the conference: "Most football club directors are supporters of the club and are trying to do their best."

Perhaps the experience at Swansea, where ownership has passed from a London-based windscreen company to an Australia-based stationer, will make him think again. Or perhaps not.

Others, though, must consider the wider circumstances which have made football's historic clubs so vulnerable. Because footballers' contracts are sacrosanct and must be paid in full even if a club goes bust, players are effectively immune from the consequences of their unrealistic wages.

Swansea's wage bill last year was £2.1m, higher than the club's income. Four players are understood to be paid more than £100,000 a year. Hollins, a distinguished football man, was paid £115,000 a year. The club lost £1m last year and no local interest would consider taking it on. Three people have lost their jobs: Ron Walton, the youth team coach responsible for developing Stuart Roberts; Glen Letheran, the goalkeeping coach, and Martin Burgess, the financial director.

Swansea's ordeal makes more urgent the need for proper regulation by the FA. But how many crises will it take, how many club collapses, before the FA, League and the PFA get a grip of the game's finances, which are now clearly spiralling out of control?
davidconn@freeuk.com

SWANSEA City's new chief executive has confirmed he is a director in a business with one of Britain's top porn stars — Teresa May.

John Shuttleworth has told the Post he is a director of Teresa May Marketing Solutions.

The company works with actors, actresses and dancers and one of the other directors is Teresa May.

Teresa has become one of the model and porn film phenomenons of the last decade.

The name has been associated with topless newspaper poses, films and videos, a number of porn sites on the internet, and even Teresa May wallpaper.

Logging on to the internet leads browsers to the model's official website which in turn can cross reference to sites offering thousands of explicit sex pictures and films.

But Mr Shuttleworth said today he had nothing to do with Teresa May's porn business which includes hard core offerings on the internet.

At the Swans' Vetch Field headquarters he said: "I am a business consultant who provides solutions. That is what I do.

"I have a company called Teresa May Marketing Solutions, and we rent a room in Maidstone where her offices are.

"The company offers a service to actors, actresses and dancers."

Companies House details describes it as a private limited company but has no details about the nature of the business.

Mr Shuttleworth has a long business association with Tony Petty, the Australian-based Londoner who has taken control of the troubled third division club.

Petty has angered fans by trying to sack seven players and cut the contracts of eight others since taking over from former owner Mike Lewis.

On Saturday night that anger almost boiled over.

Mr Shuttleworth had to make a hurried exit from Jumpin' Jaks nightclub in Kingsway, Swansea, after word spread that he was there.

Speaking for the first time about the incident today he said: "Nothing actually happened but it could have been difficult.

"I think the win the other night might have improved things."

Mike Lewis is understood to be trying to take back control of Swansea City.

His move relates to a legal technicality surrounding the take-over which could mean Mr Lewis is still effectively the owner.

SWANSEA City captain Nick Cusack is desperate for the club to hang onto its best players after Tuesday's morale-boosting 2-0 win over Darlington.

Cusack's second-half goal against his former club helped the Swans end a run of four defeats and avoid the prospect of slipping to the bottom of the Football League for the first time in their 89-year history.

The 35-year-old defender said he was confident Swansea had finally turned the corner after a series of disappointing results.

But Cusack said it was vital the club kept its best players if the side is to build on the Darlington win and steer clear of the relegation zone.

"It has been well documented that the club wants to move forward by moving certain players on and bringing in others on much cheaper rates," he said.

"But I don't think that is the right policy. I would like to keep the squad together, and I'm sure Colin Addison would echo that.

"Colin and Peter (Nicholas) are in a difficult position. They are being told by the people in charge that they won't have certain players available and I don't think that is the way to run things."

Swansea have already been forced to sell star player Stuart Roberts and chief executive John Shuttleworth has indicated three or four others could follow him out of the Vetch to help trim the club's wage bill.

Possible replacements are being lined up from Australian soccer and two trialists - 22-year-old Ipswich Knights striker Peter Henks and 24-year-old Brisbane Lion goalkeeper Scott Higgins - were tested in a reserve match at Cardiff yesterday.

Off the field, there has been speculation that former chairman Mike Lewis could find himself back at the Vetch as owner again as his sale of the club to Tony Petty may not be legally valid.

"With everything that is going on, it is difficult to carry on as normal," said Cusack.

"But the players have managed to keep their minds focused on the games. As professional footballers you have got to have a winning instinct every time you go out on the field and be able to put off-the-field distractions aside.

"The pressure has been mounting because we hadn't won since the Kidderminster game and needed to move away from the bottom of the league.

"It is a professional footballer's worst nightmare to be propping up the Football League and we didn't want the ignominy of being in that position.

"In the first half we had a couple of chances and I started to wonder again whether it was going to be our night. But in the second half we acquitted ourselves well and managed to get two goals."

As the club's PFA representative, Cusack has worked hard behind the scenes to ensure the players' wages are paid at the end of the month and their contracts are honoured during the club's cash crisis.

It was perhaps a fitting reward that he should have opened his account for the season with a goal against Darlington. "That's for other people to say," he said. "It is always a boost to score a goal but the main thing was that we got the win. I wouldn't say it was the best goal of my career but it was perhaps the most important."

SWANSEA City assistant boss Peter Nicholas refused to get carried away with a first home victory since he arrived at the club last night.

But after the encouraging 2-0 triumph over Darlington, the former Barry manager insisted his squad is capable of success.

"We needed that win but we are not going to go overboard," said Nicholas, who along with Colin Addison has steered clear of bold statements since taking over at the Vetch.

"We created some good chances early on and hit the woodwork and we thought it was going to be one of those nights again.

"The way things have been going recently we'd started to wonder if we'd ever get that first home win.

"We said to the boys at half-time to keep going. They did and they got two goals.

"But now we've got to go to Luton and that is going to be a very tough game because they are going well."

Nicholas was obviously pleased after skipper Nick Cusack and Nathan Tyson — with a 25-yard special — had sealed the new management team's first home success at the sixth attempt.

Another bonus was the return to action of Steve Watkin, after nearly two months out, and Ryan Casey, who has missed nearly a year.

Star central defender Jason Smith, another long-term casualty, was due to play in a friendly against Cardiff City today.

"The good thing is we have not seen these players since we got here," added Nicholas.

"People are telling us they are even better than what we have got already so hopefully they will come back and make us stronger.

"There are some good players here. Whatever's going on off the field, they play for Swansea and they play for the shirt. Hopefully now we can take this win on to Luton this Saturday."

Swansea City .......... 2 Darlington ............ 0

Swansea: Freestone, Phillips, Todd, O'Leary, Bound, Howard, Cusack, Coates, Casey (Watkin 79), Williams, Tyson (Mumford 90). Subs not used: Jones, Mazzina, Keegan.

Darlington : Collett, Heckingbottom, Liddle, Jeannin, Maddison, Atkinson, Conlon, Mellanby (Marcelle 83), Hodgson, Betts, Wainwright (Harper 77). Subs not used: Brumwell, Marsh, Van Der Geest.

Booked: Jeannin 61
Attendance : 2,921
Referee : Frazer Stretton (Nottingham)

THE smiles on nearly 3,000 Vetch Field faces when Swansea City took the lead against Darlington last night only broadened on realisation of the scorer's identity.

Nick Cusack, the man who has spearheaded the off-field fight against controversial chairman Tony Petty over the past two weeks, last night showed the way on the pitch.

The 35-year-old captain produced another battling display in midfield and crucially grabbed the game's first goal to tip the balance Swansea's way.

Before Cusack's 51st-minute strike, they had looked in danger of failing to convert pressure into a lead, as they have done too many times already this season.

Last week's home defeat by Brighton was the most recent example, when the Second Division side bounced back off the ropes to steal victory late on.

"We had started to think it was going to be another one of those nights," admitted Cusack afterwards.

There was no need to panic. Once Cusack had strode onto Jonathan Coates's through ball and steered the ball through Andrew Collett's weak hands, Swansea had won the match.

The skipper's first strike of the season lifted players and fans alike and just three minutes later Swansea were effectively home and dry.

Loan striker Nathan Tyson, guilty of a few costly misses in his two-month stay at the Vetch, raced from halfway down the right touchline before cutting across the defence and smashing the ball high into the net from 25 yards.

Victory was sealed, and how vital Colin Addison's first home maximum since taking charge in early September proved.

Defeat would have seen Swansea 92nd and last in the Football League for the first time in the club's 89-year history.

Even with this success, good results for the Third Division's other strugglers last night mean they sit just two points off the bottom.

But a win over an impressive Darlington side, coupled with mounting speculation that Petty's time in South Wales may be nearly up, could be just the lift Addison's men need.

After the doom and gloom of recent weeks, supporters were suddenly talking about the number of wins needed to reach the play-off spots as they left the ground.

Few were concerning themselves with the prospect of life in the Conference next season.

"I have said all along since the problems started off the field that we needed to pick up points," added Cusack.

"When the dust settles, we have to be in a good position in the league.

"We could not afford to lose to Darlington. We produced a good performance and hopefully it is something we can build on."

It was an encouraging display from Swansea and one which could have brought a more comfortable victory but for a combination of slack finishing and the the visitors' woodwork.

Tyson fired straight at the goalkeeper early on, before watching in anguish as Craig Liddle blocked a goal-bound drive.

The pacy youngster then dragged a shot wide when through on Collett's goal.

Chris Todd's header thudded back off the bar, and John Williams should have found the gaping net rather than the post when he met Ryan Casey's sweet cross late on.

The rebound found Coates near the penalty spot but he skewed high and wide.

Swansea did survive some scares of their own, most notably when Michael Howard, standing on the line at a corner, headed Neil Maddison's effort clear via the crossbar, and Roger Freestone made smart saves from Steve Harper and Barry Conlon as Darlington pushed forward late on.

But Darlington manager Gary Bennett was wide of the mark afterwards when he blamed defeat on his strikers' wastefulness.

Swansea were good value for their win. Whether it kick-starts their season, though, remains to be seen.

Their league position is still perilous ahead of a daunting trip to Luton this weekend.

More importantly, Petty remains in charge of the club and therefore more upheaval in the coming weeks is a strong possibility.

The fans realise it - ‘We want Petty out' was again the most popular tune at the Vetch last night.

This victory will soon be forgotten if, as he plans to do, the Aussie-based Londoner sends another five senior players on their way.

Cusack, the central figure since 15 players had their contracts torn up, enjoyed talking to the Press about scoring a goal and getting a win last night.

As long as Petty is around, the chances are he will spend plenty more time with his Professional Footballers' Association hat on.

Victory was most welcome, but off-the-field change is much more likely to bring a sustained upturn in on-the-field fortunes.

SWANSEA City fans were still waiting today for news of former chairman Mike Lewis's bid to oust Tony Petty from the club's boardroom.

Mr Lewis is understood to have contacted solicitors over a loophole in the takeover process which could mean he is still Swansea's owner. But he played down the speculation.

Since Mr Petty took control just over three weeks ago, no meeting of the Vetch Field board has been called.

Therefore, it is thought, Mr Petty can not legally own the club because a stamped transfer needs to be approved by Swansea's directors.

Mr Lewis would need to secure a High Court writ to wrest his 99.15 per cent controlling share back from his controversial successor.

Meanwhile, the mystery consortium which last week tried to buy Mr Petty out of the club met again this week to discuss how to take over from Mr Lewis when he returned to the Vetch, rather than how to get rid of Mr Petty.

Swansea City 2 Darlington 0

SWANSEA City last night avoided the prospect of propping up the Football League for the first time in their 89-year history with an uplifting win over promotion-chasing Darlington.

With the Swans starting the match only one point above the Third Division's bottom club, Hartlepool, a defeat and other results not going their way would have left the club occupying the dreaded 92nd position.

But the fact Hartlepool won at Macclesfield was of little significance as Swansea ended a run of four defeats and gave Colin Addison his second win as manager and first at the Vetch.

The game was played against a backdrop of yet more speculation over off-the-field events - former chairman Mike Lewis has been linked with a return - and supporters again called for controversial new owner Tony Petty to leave the club.

It was the lowest attendance for a league match this season but the fans who turned up left in no doubt the players' minds were focused on the game, despite the ongoing uncertainty for many over their future at the club.

Swansea showed a massive improvement on Saturday's dismal performance against Leyton Orient and finally found the penetration which has been missing in recent matches.

Addison made only one change to the side - midfielder Ryan Casey coming in for Leigh De Vulgt. Casey's return came after eight months on the sidelines with cruciate ligament damage and a month on loan at Merthyr. Steve Watkin's appearance as a second-half substitute was his first since August after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Yet again Swansea started the game the better side and could have found themselves at least 2-0 up within the first 20 minutes had luck gone their way.

The Swans almost snatched a goal after four minutes when former Darlington striker John Williams played a ball through to Nathan Tyson on the edge of the box. Tyson's fierce low shot would have found the back of the net had Darlington 'keeper Andrew Collett not gone to ground to make a fine save.

Collett frustrated Swansea again in the 20th minute when he dived low to his left to gather a skimmer from Jonathan Coates.

Two minutes later Tyson's 20-yard strike was heading towards an empty goal before Darlington defender Craig Liddle stuck out a leg to deflect the ball out for a corner - from which Chris Todd saw a shot bounce back of the crossbar.

Swansea went into the break with the score 0-0 but took the lead six minutes after the restart when captain Nick Cusack saw a shot wriggle into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal after he was played in by Coates.

The goal at last gave Swansea supporters something to celebrate and Cusack fitting reward for his hard work both on the pitch and off it as the players' PFA representative.

Noise created by the former Darlington player's 51st-minute strike was still reverberating around the Vetch when Swansea went 2-0 up. Tyson scored his first Swansea goal when he rifled in an unstoppable left-foot shot past Collett from 25 yards.

DOORMEN are believed to have escorted the new chief executive of Swansea City FC from a city nightclub because of fears for his safety.

Management at Jumpin' Jaks denied today that John Shuttleworth had been in any danger.

But a spokesman at the football club and an eyewitness both said Mr Shuttleworth was under a potential threat.

The Swansea City spokesman said: "There was a question of his safety and he was moved."

Mr Shuttleworth is the new chief executive of the club and long-time friend of owner Tony Petty.

Both have earned the wrath of fans after moving to sack seven players and cut the pay of eight others.

Mr Shuttleworth was in Jumpin' Jaks on Saturday night, just hours after the club's latest defeat which plunged it deep in to relegation trouble.

One fan who was in the club when Mr Shuttleworth was spotted around midnight with a party of people said: "The word went round like wildfire who he was.

"One supporter went up to him and warned him that he could be in danger if he stayed.

"At first a bouncer said he could not do anything because he had not done anything wrong.

"People were starting to gather in groups and about five members of staff whisked him away."

But Les Richards, general manager of Jumpin' Jaks, said: "He was never in any danger.

"We have just refurbished part of the unit as Envy and the red carpet was out.

"He asked what was going on and expressed a desire to see it. He stayed for a couple of hours, and then I believe he went on to a casino."

Mr Shuttleworth was away from Swansea yesterday, and was not immediately available for comment today.

COLIN Addison has issued a ‘don't panic' call despite Swansea City facing rock bottom of the Football League for the first time in the club's history.

Defeat at home to Darlington tonight plus the wrong results elsewhere would see Swansea slump to 92nd and last in the pile, their lowest point in 89 years.

But the ever-upbeat Addison has seen it all before.

"It is only October and it is not time to start worrying yet," he said.

"We know we are down there, but with the experience I have and Peter Nicholas has a couple of wins would see us jump into the top half of the table.

"There is no need to start panicking at the moment and no one is going to do that. What we need is to get that first home win to get on our way. There's hardly anything between where we are and eighth or 10th in the table right now."

Tonight's visitors to the Vetch lie seventh in the table, so by Addison's reckoning it should be a good contest.

Swansea will be boosted by the return to the squad of 'sacked' striker Steve Watkin, who has not played since August, and Ryan Casey, who last featured in the spring.

Jonathan Coates is a doubt, though, after picking up a calf strain in Saturday's defeat by Leyton Orient.

Skipper Nick Cusack, striker John Williams and winger Richie Appleby should all be in the squad to face their former club.

"The weekend was disappointing but generally I feel our performances have deserved better and we have not been rewarded for our efforts," added Addison.

"The last few weeks have been frustrating for the players and the fans.

"There's a lot of emotion flying around the place but we have got to get focused and start picking up points."

Swansea: from Freestone, Keegan, Howard, Bound, O'Leary, Todd, Cusack, Coates, Williams, Phillips, Tyson, De-Vulgt, Jones, Watkin, Appleby, Casey, Mazzina, Mumford

Darlington: from Collett, Betts, Liddle, Jeannin, Heckingbottom, Wainwright, Maddison, Atkinson, Hodgson, Conlon, Mellanby, Brightwell, Van Der Geest, Harper, Marcelle, Convery, Bramwell, Jackson, Campbell

LEYTON Orient boss Paul Brush sympathised with Swansea's plight but could not hide his glee at ending the O's "slide to nowhere".

The former West Ham player, in charge for only the second time after Tommy Taylor quit last week, was in buoyant mood after Jeff Minton's late goal bucked a run of five consecutive defeats, especially after Orient suffered the backlash of off-the-field problems at Hull City last season.

"I remember we went to Hull a week after the bailiffs came in," said Brush, assistant boss at Brisbane Road before Taylor's departure.

"The team made a good start that day, the crowd got right behind them and we suffered.

"We had to stop that happening again at Swansea and credit to my players, I thought they did that.

"It was a very level game with very few chances, but we looked like a team and got a little bit of luck which we haven't had a lot of this season.

"Scoring at the end is the ideal time and we're glad to have ended a run of one point from six. We were on a slide to nowhere."

With four straight defeats, Colin Addison's Swansea are on the way to matching Orient's dismal recent run.

And Brush, who is also working a tight budget, felt for the Swans boss following recent events at the Vetch.

"I have got every sympathy with the management here if players have to go because of the finances.

"But this league is all about confidence — there isn't much between all the teams.

"We were short of it. Hopefully this win will bring it back and that's what Swansea need."

He added: "Swansea is a city club, they should have a lot of supporters and a lot of people backing them to help them survive.

"Whatever division they're playing, the football club is a vital part of the community and must keep going."

SWANSEA City skipper Nick Cusack has told his team-mates to focus on the football and forget their off-field woes.

Just one point off the bottom of the Football League, Swansea are desperate to halt a four-match losing run when they meet Darlington tomorrow night.

And 35-year-old Cusack has sent out a rallying call after defeat by Leyton Orient on Saturday compounded the club's problems.

New chairman Tony Petty's heavy-handed actions over the last fortnight have caused chaos behind the scenes at the club.

Now manager Colin Addison is facing a crisis on the pitch as he looks to steer Swansea away from the bottom of Division Three.

"It is essential we get a win because we desperately need to start picking up points," said Cusack.

"I have said all along, throughout this crisis, that what we do on the field is very important as well.

"We are in a precipitous position at the foot of the table now and we desperately need victories."

Cusack was substituted in Saturday's last-gasp defeat because, according to Addison, he was "out on his feet".

"We are trying to keep motivated and keep going but what's happening at the club makes it very difficult," added the midfielder.

"The actions of Mr Petty are in the players' minds constantly and it's a distraction when we're on the field.

"All the problems make it very difficult to focus on the football but we want to get back to that."

It may be Addison's players need to see changes in the Vetch Field boardroom before their thoughts return to climbing the Third Division table.

Petty has caused a number of distractions, not least with the decision to breach 15 players' contracts, and Cusack has again spelt out his concerns regarding Swansea's future should the Aussie-based Londoner remain at the helm.

"Mr Petty's actions have made the situation at the club very grave," said Cusack, Swansea's Professional Footballers' Association representative.

"We still haven't had assurances about whether we will be paid at the end of the month and if that does not happen it's going to be difficult for the club to function.

"They are looking to offload four or five first-team players so I don't know whether we're going to have a team."

Meanwhile, financial director Martin Burgess has become the latest casualty of the Petty regime.

The club has yet to make a statement on his departure, but it is believed Burgess was sacked.

He may have become surplus to requirements in the chairman's eyes since John Shuttleworth, an accountant, was appointed chief executive.

Burgess is the second director to go in a fortnight and leaves only Petty, Shuttleworth and Mel Nurse on the board.

FANS of Swansea City's opponents joined a march to oust the club's chairman in a rare show of solidarity on Saturday.

More than 1,000 Swans fans marched through the centre of the city to the Vetch demanding that controversial chairman Tony Petty should go.

Mr Petty has earned the fans' wrath after trying to sack seven players and cut the salaries of eight others.

His actions have been ruled illegal by the Football League and the fans now want him out.

Their call was echoed by fans of visiting team Leyton Orient, who took part to show solidarity.

Even more unusually, some fans chanted in support of arch-rivals Cardiff City.

The leader of the march, Swansea Sound DJ Kevin Johns, told protesters: "Tony Petty has brought us together not just to support Swansea City but to oppose him. He can go back to Australia."

To loud applause he added: "There are Leyton Orient supporters marching with us today."

Sixteen-year-old Mark Beevers, of Manselton, Swansea, who was taking part in the protest with friends, said: "Tony Petty is a disgrace. The club will survive." His friend Stephen Soproniuk, of Townhill, added: "Tony Petty is a complete disgrace. He should not be allowed back in the city."

Brian Havard, of Craigcefnparc, Swansea, was there with his eight-year-old grandson Robert.

Mr Havard, a Swans fan for most of his life, said: "It is such a shame. Of course I am worried about the future of the club. The council is not doing anything."

Shoppers stopped to watch the fans march through the city centre, with some offering their support.

Swansea City Supporters Trust spokeswoman Marilyn Croft said: "It was a united football event with Leyton Orient fans joining in.

"We want to show Tony Petty the strength of the fans' feelings. There must be a hidden agenda and we want to know what it is."

How ironic that almost 20 years to the day when the Swans went top of the old First Division under John Toshack, they should go within just one point of the very bottom of the Football League.

Jeff Minton's goal 25 seconds into second half injury time simply increased the woes upon Colin Addison's men as things go from bad to worse at The Vetch.

The Swans didn't play well, although they scarcely deserved to lose. But there's an old football saying that when you're down at the bottom, little goes right for you.

Next to nothing is going right for the Swans at the moment. And if the horrendous off-the-field problems brought about by Tony Petty aren't resolved pretty quickly, the ominous prospect of the Swans dropping out of Division Three and into The Conference will grow larger and larger.

The fans are trying to do their bit to get rid of the controversial chairman. Nearly 2,000 of them began the day with a protest march to the ground, spent most of the game chanting `We Want Petty Out' and `We Want Our Club Back' and hundreds of angry supporters finished the afternoon with an after-match demonstration by remaining inside The Vetch.

In between, the supporters also taunted previous chairman Mike Lewis with chants of `Where's Your Missus Gone' - a reference to what they see as an attempt at a sympathy vote from him in Wales on Sunday last weekend when he claimed his commitment to the Swans led to his marriage break-up.

And the biggest cheer of the whole afternoon was reserved for the visiting Orient fans who showed their support for the Swans' cause by unfurling a huge slogan saying `Petty Out'.

Needless to say, neither Petty nor Lewis were anywhere near The Vetch to hear and see what was going on. Petty's chief executive John Shuttleworth showed guts by sitting in the director's box, but he cut a lonesome figure.

What a difference, many of the older fans must have been thinking, to that famous day in October 1981 when Toshack's team came back from a goal down to win 2-1 at Stoke and go proudly above Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Alan Curtis, Bob Latchford and other Vetch legends of that table-topping team must cringe at what is going on at their old club at the moment.

But no one should be questioning the management team of Addison and Peter Nicholas. They have a near impossible job at present and that they are tackling things with such zest and enthusiasm in the most trying of circumstances is to be commended.

Addison said afterwards that off-the-pitch events finally caught up with one or two of his players yesterday.

"It was a very disappointing performance. Too often we were second best and there was no flow, no authority to our play," said the manager.

"But I'm going home to Hereford for the first time in 12 days and I'll be back raring to go on Monday morning. I've told the players to make sure they are too."

Because of the well-publicised problems, no one was anticipating a Vetch classic. So it came as no real surprise that the two sides looked so disjointed, with little fluidity and even less in the way of goalmouth action early on.

The Swans, missing the verve of transferred Stuart Roberts and the threat of the injured Sidibe, created nothing worthwhile in front of the Orient goal in the first half.

The only minor moment of danger came when Williams broke away down the left and sent over a low cross which Tyson was hoping to get on the end of and which Smith almost put into his own net.

Williams and Tyson didn't link together up front, the midfield didn't get forward in enough numbers to support them. No one looked capable of holding the game by the scruff of the neck.

At the other end, Orient weren't that much better although Roger Freestone did have to be alert in the 15th minute when Watts ghosted beyond the Swans' defence, only to have his shot blocked by the onrushing Swans' keeper.

Addison acted decisively at half-time, sending young Michael Keegan on for Leigh De-Vulgt in a bid to pump up the volume. And whatever he said in the dressing room obviously also had an impact because within three minutes of the re-start, Tyson went on a surging 40-yard run, only to be bundled over right on the edge of the Orient penalty area. Tyson fell well inside the box and the fans screamed for a penalty, but the referee was having none of it and awarded the free kick just out-side the area, which the Swans wasted.

In that one moment, Tyson showed a more positive, purposeful and direct approach than the entire team had done during the first half. He seemed to grow in confidence too, twice coming close with headers. The first chance came in the 71st minute when Tyson met Coates's corner, only to see his effort blocked by Barrett. Seven minutes afterwards, Tyson raced to the far post to meet an Appleby cross from the other side, but failed to direct his header goalwards.

It was one of those games which just seemed destined to be 0-0. Instead, Orient stole the three points right at the end when a cross from the left was headed into the path of Minton who drove past Freestone from 10 yards.

Yes, those heady days of proudly sitting above Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal do seem in the very distant past.

ANGRY Swans fans last night stepped up the pressure on Tony Petty by urging council leaders NOT to grant him permission to build the new Morfa Stadium, writes PAUL ABBANDONATO.

The Supporters Trust, which already has a membership approaching 1,000, have linked with a local business consortium in a bid to buy back the club from the controversial chairman.

Already they have organised a public meeting and protest marches through the streets of Swansea.

And on websites, fans are even implored to stick a copy of the t-shirt (right) in their cars and windows.

Trust spokesman Leigh Dineen said: "If Mr Petty thinks that the past week's demonstrations were a one-off act of defiance, then the Supporters Trust would like to report that he ain't seen nothing yet.

"The Trust would like to tell Mr Petty that their goal is to see his departure from Swansea City FC. There is no place for him at Swansea and the sooner he realises that the better."

The Trust spokesman turned up the heat by urging Swansea City Council to play their part in forcing Petty to hand over his controlling interest in the club.

"We ask that the council look carefully at the issue of the Morfa and the implications it might have on the time Mr Petty has in Swansea," said Dineen.

"His motives for coming here are unclear but the Morfa stadium seems to be at the forefront of his plans.

"For the good of Swansea City FC, its fans, council taxpayers and Swansea as a whole we implore the council, at least, to put off any announcements until Mr Petty has relinquished control of our club.

"We have huge reservations as to the direction in which our club is heading. We ask that the council support us in our efforts.

"We do not want our club being labelled with the tag of having the best ground in the Conference."

He went on: "We urge fans, local businesses and the council to unite and rescue our club. Please join us and help us in any way you can.

"We particularly ask for businesses to come forward and offer their support. We need a professional football team in Swansea."

Trust chiefs have given themselves a slogan: "Swansea City Supporters Trust: United in One Aim".

Anyone wishing to get involved should telephone 01792 799082.

The Trust spokesman made it clear Petty would NEVER be welcome in Swansea.

"Whatever Mr Petty has to say over the coming weeks will not disguise the fact that he tried to walk into this club and sack seven players.

"This act will never be forgotten and the fans are unanimous in their condemnation."

A GOAL in the 90th minute from midfielder Jeff Minton gave Leyton Orient an invaluable three points to send crisis-torn Swansea City deeper into the quagmire of uncertainty.

Their first-half performance reflected their off-the-field disruption with a scrappy 45 minutes of poor football.

The body blow for the Swans came in the final minute as a Minton right-foot volley shot past helpless keeper Roger Freestone following a dangerous cross from defender Matthew Joseph.

SWANSEA City players have failed to receive assurances they will be paid at the end of the month.

Talks aimed at finding solutions to the club's financial crisis took place yesterday between Swans officials and a delegation from the Professional Footballers' Association.

The meeting was arranged after chairman Tony Petty's drastic cash-saving purge at The Vetch last week which saw seven players sacked and a further eight offered reduced wage contracts.

The PFA told Swansea it had an obligation to honour contracts and it was hoped a solution would be found to the club's desperate financial position.

But Swansea finance director Martin Burgess and chief executive John Shuttleworth yesterday told Brendan Batson and Clive Whitehead from the PFA they could not guarantee paying players' wages.

Club captain Nick Cusack - at the meeting as the players' PFA representative and a member of the union's executive committee - said, "We wanted an assurance that players' wages would be paid at the end of the month but I'm afraid we haven't got it.

"The club has said it does not currently have the funds to pay the play-ers but is looking at ways to do so.

"I understand Mr Petty is looking at establishing some funding from Australia and the club has said that it must raise money by moving more players on."

With the sale of Stuart Roberts bringing the club a £100,000 boost, it now seems inevitable more Swansea players will follow him out of the door.

"Unfortunately it looks like the club will have to sell to be in a more manageable position," said Cusack, who was one of the eight players asked to take a drop in wages.

"It is a worrying thing for me as club captain. We are in a desperate position at the foot of the table and the last thing we want to do is lose our best players."

Should Swansea fail to raise money by selling players or from potential backers in Australia, the PFA is ready to step in with a loan to pay players' wages - providing Swansea can guarantee it will be repaid through money the club receives from the Football League's central fund.

"The PFA will now await information from the club regarding what its financial position is," said Cusack.

"But the PFA cannot simply hand money to the owners of the club unless there are guarantees it will be re-paid. The bottom line is that players' contracts must be honoured and the owners of the club must run it on the basis that wages are paid in full.

"The club must meet its obligations and the crunch will come at the end of the month when the players are due to be paid."