SWANSEA CITY goalkeeper Roger Freestone has gained international recognition for an outstanding season on the domestic front by being included on the stand-by list for Wales’s Euro 2000 qualifiers against Italy and Denmark next month.

Freestone, along with Sunderland’s Andy Marriott, will have to wait on the fitness of Southampton’s Paul Jones and Nottingham Forest’s Mark Crossley to stand any chance of winning a first cap.

Wales face Italy in Bologna on Saturday, June 5, and Denmark four days later at Anfield — two games vital to their European Championship hopes after the shock 2-0 defeat in Switzerland last March.

Wales boss Bobby Gould has again named Ryan Giggs in the 20-man squad, although he will have to wait to see if the Welsh winger comes through Manchester United’s double date in the FA Cup and European Champions League finals.

All the other big guns are included — Mark Hughes, John Hartson, Dean Saunders and Gary Speed. Leicester midfielder Robbie Savage is also included, but will miss the Italian job through suspension.

The only surprise sees Neath-born Andrew Legg recalled to the full squad. He is currently on Cardiff City’s end-of-season tour of Spain.

‘‘I’m delighted. It’s come as a total shock,’’ explained Legg who has won four full caps under Gould — the last coming over two years ago.

‘‘Just being part of the Welsh camp is a bonus for me. I suppose I owe it to Cardiff because they made me start enjoying my football again after becoming a forgotten man at Reading.’’

Nathan Blake is out through injury, while Andrew Melville’s recent move to Craven Cottage takes the Fulham representation to three along with fellow defender Chris Coleman and Kit Symons.

Swansea’s Jonathan Coates, a non-playing member of the squad in Switzerland after a late call-up, is also on the stand-by list along with Aston Villa defender Mark Delaney.

Also standing by is former Swansea defender Christian Edwards and Torquay’s ex-Barry striker Eifion Williams. Swansea have a triple representation in the Under-21 squad for the UEFA Championship match at The Paolo Mazza Stadium in Ferrara. Kristian O’Leary, still waiting for his first cap, Stuart Roberts and Jason Price have all made the full squad again, while Damien Lacey and goalkeeper Jason Jones are on the stand-by list.

SWANSEA CITY chairman Steve Hamer has promised manager John Hollins the club’s full backing in his quest to bounce back from last night’s play-off heartache at Scunthorpe.

While Swansea’s players, management and heart-broken supporters were coming to terms with another campaign in Division Three next season after their 3-1 extra-time play-off defeat at Glanford Park, Hamer promised to back Hollins to the hilt.

‘‘We’ll sit down with the manager over the summer and see what his plans are for the new season,’’ explained Hamer. ’’It’s his decision how we tackle it.

‘‘If he feels we need strengthening in certain areas, we’ll sit down and make sure he has every chance of strengthening in those departments.

‘‘John knows what he’s doing. He’s a very experienced manager and that’s why we brought him down here.

‘‘I certainly don’t want to be in this position again next season of trying to go up via the play-offs. We’ve got to do it the proper way next season with automatic promotion.

‘‘The signs and signals are there that we can do that. You’ve got to look at where we’ve come from — from 20th to seventh and within a whisker of Wembley and promotion.

‘‘We’ve turned down bids for certain players which most other clubs in our position would have taken, but we realise you’ve got to have your core to make sure the young players have something to play and build around.

‘‘We are restoring the club in the right way, but we’ll have to be a bit more patient. We’ve got a better side than last season, but I’m just sorry we couldn’t give the fans a Wembley appearance this year.

‘‘But our plans are still in place and we are on course for what we want to do. The club has a proper infra-structure now and come next season we’ll be looking to bomb along into an automatic promotion spot.

‘‘Every player has had a magnificent season and given us a run for our money. I’m very proud of them and so is the manager.

‘‘They are absolutely devastated, so please stick with us,’’ added Hamer.

While Hollins has been around long enough to realise that the club’s high profile this season through the FA Cup and the play-offs is likely to attract interest in a number of his players, especially the likes of Matthew Bound and Jason Smith, he is confident his squad will remain intact when they return for pre-season training on July 2.

‘‘Nobody’s contract expires during the summer,’’ said Hollins. ’’So as far as I’m concerned everyone will be there on July 9.’’

Asked about any new arrivals, Hollins added: ‘‘I want to strengthen in the summer. There’s no doubt about that.’’

Hollins: My worst moment

Having watched his side lose out on a Wembley ticket in extra time, the Swansea manager admitted: ’’That was one of the biggest heartaches of my career because we worked very hard to get where we are.

’’The players have worked hard for me, Alan Curtis and the Swansea City badge. They have given every single ounce of strength they’ve got. The boys are absolutely on the floor.

’’But the result is no disgrace. They are hard and horrible lessons to learn, but ones which will do them good even though they can’t see that now.

’’This is an experience that will stick with them. I’ve been through it myself by losing two semi-finals in a row and I know how it hurts. You are so close yet so far away.

’’The experience will do them a power of good because a lot of boys who were considered not good enough have come a long way. In fact, we’ve all come a long way in a short space of time.

SWANSEA City striker Steve Watkin looks set to lose his fitness fight for tomorrow night’s crucial second-leg play-off clash at Scunthorpe’s Glan-ford Park.

Now not even the salt water from Swansea Bay looks capable of rescuing the services of Swansea’s in-form striker.

Watkin twisted his ankle after stepping off the pitch and onto the track during Sunday’s 1-0 first-leg victory.

Although a hospital scan revealed no broken bones, Watkin is rated extremely doubtful by manager John Hollins.

‘‘He felt a lot better after a paddle in the sea,’’ explained Hollins. ‘‘But at the moment you’ve got to say he’s a non-starter.

‘‘Tony Bird is standing by waiting for his chance. He’s looked better as the season has progressed and I know he’ll do a good job.

‘‘There has been a lot of paper talk about who’s going to do this and who’s going to do that, but our game plan is simple. We’ll go there as if it is 0-0 and play tight and solid.’’

The mind games continued today from Scunthorpe’s outspoken boss Brian Laws.

‘‘One thing is for sure. I am more confident now than John Hollins will be at the present time,’’ said Laws.

‘‘We finished by far the stronger of the two teams and Swansea came off the field a little dejected. We didn’t. My players know they have a great chance of coming through tomorrow night.

‘‘We will be working hard to put them under pressure and our supporters can have a really big part to play. Whoever wins I believe will also go on to win at Wembley.’’

MATTHEW Bound kept Swansea City Wembley bound as he pumped up the Vetch Field volume and headed John Hollins’s hopefuls into pole position for a speedy return down Wembley Way. One first-leg goal may not be enough for Swansea to start thinking about measuring up for their Wembley suits, but Bound’s 45th-minute strike will ensure the ghetto-blaster will be banging out a victory march come the start of the second leg at Glanford Park on Wednesday night.

Bound arrived at Vetch Field with a huge ghetto-blaster over one shoulder and his kit bag over the other. The central defender left with the sound of the crowd still chanting his name after a cracking semi-final tie. Bound is Swansea’s music man, making sure the dressing room is reverberating loudly with the sound of house and garage music in a bid to lift and build the team spirit before the game. His taste in music may not be to Hollins’s liking, but the sweet sound of Bound’s vital header hitting the back of the Scunthorpe net was certainly music to the Swansea manager’s ears.

“It was a terrific goal to score just before half-time,” beamed Hollins. “It was a great delivery and a great header from Boundy. It’s a valuable goal.”

Swansea will look back on this first leg of the Third Division play-offs, however, and feel they should have completed the job there and then after missing a host of chances in-front of a reduced but bouncing Vetch Field crowd. Julian Alsop shot over as early as the eighth minute; Jonathan Coates saw a great opportunity snatched away from him two minutes later by Russ Wilcox, while Steve Watkin connected superbly with a Stuart Roberts free-kick in the 14th minute, only for his header to strike the top of the post. Bound fired over from 12 yards soon after, while Martin Thomas had one goal-bound effort deflected inches wide before firing over four minutes from the interval.

It highlighted Swansea’s superiority in the first half as the Scunthorpe defence were forced to live on their nerves for long periods. But Swansea couldn’t make the breakthrough until Bound struck his third goal of the season in first-half injury time as he darted to the front post to head home a perfectly executed free-kick from Michael Howard.

It came after Roger Freestone had demonstrated why he’s regarded as the best goalkeeper in the lower divisions with two first-class saves. They were saves which kept Swansea in the driving seat. Coates lost possession as early as the fourth minute and it took a superb fingertip save to push Steve Housham’s drive into the side netting. Housham was denied again in the 22nd minute as he followed up a blocked shot from John Gayle, only for Freestone to somehow manage to smother the ball from close range.

“It could have been so different if we’d gone 1-0 down,” added Hollins. “But Roger made two great saves.”

But if Swansea had gone in at the interval a goal down it would have been an injustice after controlling the opening half hour, Alsop and Watkin causing the Scunthorpe defence all sorts of problems before Watkin limped off with a twisted ankle. But if Swansea controlled the first half, then the same can be said of Scunthorpe in the opening 25 minutes of the second period. They pinned Swansea back for long periods, forcing them to defend their lead far too deep. As a result, Scunthorpe picked up all the second ball in midfield and Jamie Forrester forced Freestone into another fine save with a 20-yard top corner curler.

But if anybody deserves the plaudits this season it’s the Swansea back four, especially Bound and Jason Smith. The central defenders, as usual, were awesome, even in the shadow of the giant Gayle. Dependable duo Steve Jones and Howard added magnificent support play to keep Eyre and dangerman Forrester under wraps and record their third consecutive clean sheet.

“I’ve said all along that the four of them have had a great season and they are a credit to the club,” confirmed Freestone. “You’d never believe this is Jason Smith’s first season in the Football League.”

But while Scunthorpe enjoyed the bulk of the ball after the interval, the best chances again fell to Swansea. A quick throw out from Freestone sent Coates, who enjoyed a far more productive second half, racing the length of the field before his pass was directed inches wide by the ever-supportive Martin Thomas. Substitute Tony Bird wasted a great chance on the hour as he failed to stay on his feet and finish a defence-splitting pass from Thomas, while Cusack and Coates both saw 20-yard efforts saved by the recalled Tim Clarke before Smith headed another Howard free-kick just wide.

They were nearly made to pay dearly for those missed opportunities a minute from time when a cross from Andrew Dawson just eluded Thomas and Spaniard Alex Calvo-Garcia, who had a penalty appeal turned down at the other end when he was caught by Jones, sent a slow-motion header agonisingly wide of Freestone’s far post with the Swansea keeper beaten.

There was more drama about to unfold at the other end as the game moved into injury time. Thomas picked out Bird with another through ball and although the striker kept his composure this time, his shot struck the inside of the far post, only to rebound back into the arms of the grateful Clarke.