Poyet Hoping To Emulate Laudrup

[Folami David]

Gus Poyet takes charge of Sunderland for the first time on Saturday when his side visit Swansea City, a progressive team the Uruguayan said had flourished under the guidance of his old friend Michael Laudrup.
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Poyet, appointed earlier this month by the struggling Wearsiders to replace the axed Paolo Di Canio, pointed to Swansea's progress under the former Danish international as a benchmark for his own foray into Premier League management.
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Former Chelsea and Tottenham defender Poyet cut his managerial teeth in League One (third tier) and the Championship (second division) with Brighton and Hove Albion before he was dismissed in June for an undisclosed breach of club discipline.
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"I suffered against him more than play against him because he was outstandingly gifted; he was an incredible football player," Poyet, who played against Laudrup in Spain's La Liga, told the Sunderland website (www.safc.com) on Thursday.
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"You can see now that he is trying to impose that quality that he had naturally on his team. They did something unique last year for a team like Swansea by winning the (league) cup and being in Europe.