Michael Laudrup's team selection, Samir Nasri's future at Manchester City and Roberto Martínez's mind games1) Martínez enjoying mind gamesRoberto Martínez has never seemed the type of manager to bother with mind games but over the last 24 hours he has offered a masterclass in psychology. First there was the unusual approach of telling a white lie to one of his players, the young winger Callum McManaman, who was informed – incorrectly – that he would not be starting in their FA Cup tie at Huddersfield to avoid him working himself up into a frenzy on the eve of the match. After that trick had worked to perfection Martínez seized the opportunity to talk up his side's habit of saving their best football for the spring. "We have people coming back from injury and we are getting ready to finish the season as you expect from Wigan Athletic," said the Spaniard. The target of that message was surely Reading, ahead of next weekend's relegation crunch match. Andy Wilson2) Swansea got their priorities rightLegends do not issue apologies easily but Michael Laudrup was sufficiently angered by Swansea's second-half collapse at Anfield to say sorry to the club's travelling supporters. A 5-0 drubbing is no way to prepare for what Laudrup has called the biggest game in the club's history – Sunday's Capital One Cup final against Bradford City – and the manager admitted confidence could be dented ahead of that match at Wembley. Laudrup accepted his share of the blame on account of his selection against Liverpool, showing seven changes from the team that beat QPR in Swansea's last Premier League outing. The loss of Chico Flores to ankle ligament damage in that fixture clearly shaped the manager's thinking and, despite the impact on morale, Laudrup was correct to make wholesale changes. A first major trophy and a place in Europe will be Swansea's should they defeat Bradford on Sunday. Attempting to remain above Liverpool in the league table is inconsequential by comparison. Andy Hunter3) Nasri could be on his wayThe bell may now be tolling for Samir Nasri's Manchester City career after he was left out of the 4-0 win over Leeds United at the Etihad Stadium. The Frenchman was one of the fall-guys for the 3-1 surrender at Southampton in City's previous game and a scan of his contribution this season hardly illuminates a convincing record: a return of one league goal – on the campaign's opening day – plus a strike in the 3-1 Champions League defeat at Ajax is paltry. Factor in a catalogue of tame performances and not one match-winning display all term and a player bought for £24m in August 2011 could be on the way this summer. Jamie Jackson4) Champions League place could revive Cup interestAs Elvis Costello did not quite sing, it's been a good year for the underdog. Arsenal's FA Cup exit at the hands of Blackburn may be the first time they have gone out to lower league opposition since Arsène Wenger's arrival but seven other Premier League sides have also gone out in this season's competition to supposedly inferior opposition: Liverpool, Tottenham, Norwich, QPR, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Newcastle making up the club. Everton are on the waiting list for membership at the moment, while Brentford came close to sending Chelsea out in their first meeting. Does it point to some sensational giant-killing exploits? Or is it more that big teams no longer care about the Cup? Perhaps offering a Champions League place to the winners might refocus that attention. Tom Bryant5) Wenger's excuses wearing thinGreat teams find a way to win no matter what. Arsenal keep finding ways to lose. Arsène Wenger blamed an "immature" lack of focus for Saturday's FA Cup defeat against Blackburn Rovers, an explanation that implied the familiar claim that his team will outgrow the problem. But that excuse is old and infirm. The problem has persisted so long it is surely systemic. So the system must change: that means either Wenger alters his policies and starts to spend more wisely on reliable quality and more time on reliable defending or Wenger must be replaced. Yes, yes, you will find a very different tune on these pages if Arsenal beat Bayern Munich on Tuesday and go on to win the Champions League. But we all know that is not going to happen. Paul Doyle6) Flitcroft thanks fan for support A word of praise to the Milton Keynes Dons supporter who backed up David Flitcroft when the Barnsley manager took issue on overhearing another MK fan "having a go" at one of his players in what Flitcroft subsequently claimed was an offensive and, he alleged, racist manner. The same goes to the club steward who took immediate action during Saturday's 3-1 defeat by Barnsley. As Flitcroft said, if you see anything untoward, as a football fan, do something. It takes guts to speak up sometimes and Flitcroft went over to the individual who backed him up to shake his hand. "I was trying to tell him 'Thank you'," he said. Richard Rae7) Virtue out of necessity Imagine watching Chelsea under Roberto Di Matteo and thinking, 'You know what's wrong here? That exhilarating, imaginative, quixotic Oscar-Mata-Hazard trident, that's what's wrong here.' And yet Rafael Benítez appraised precisely this, with Oscar the initial fall-guy. All football teams need balance, yet a preference for the refined running around of Victor Moses – despite the presence of a deep-lying midfield pair and most notably against a side which conceded only two goals in eight Copa Libertadores games – was a sorry way to botch a World Championship and half a season's entertainment. But thanks to the Africa Cup of Nations and a naughty ballboy, Benítez was left with no option but to reintroduce the most cerebral of his artists to the starting eleven against Brentford – in the process, redeeming Chelsea's aesthetic and not doing their prospects of Cup success any harm either. Daniel Harris8) Lampard still hoping for new contractLampard could have equalled Bobby Tambling's Chelsea goals record against Brentford, as he spurned a hat-trick of presentable chances before he volleyed his team's third in their 4-0 win. He now has 199 to Tambling's 202 and Roman Abramovich was present to listen to the latest collective plea from the Stamford Bridge crowd for Lampard to be allowed to stay beyond the summer. Rafael Benítez, the interim manager, said he hoped the midfielder would score 15 times in the season's remaining weeks to shatter the record but would even that be enough to sway Abramovich into granting the contract extension? Right now it feels as if the owner's mind is made up. And it is not good news for Super Frank. David Hytner9) Philliskirk happy as physioNot every coach aspires to management. Tony Philliskirk, the academy manager at Oldham, has presided over two excellent results since taking over the first team from Paul Dickov in a caretaker's capacity, a 3-1 victory over MK Dons in League One followed by Saturday's 2-2 draw with Everton in the FA Cup. But he wants his old job back asap. "I'm not looking to become the manager. I enjoy what I do, working with the youth team and sitting in the stand with the fans on match days. But what I would say is that whoever comes in is going to inherit a squad of players better than our league position would suggest. The spirit among the group is great and they showed that against Everton." Aged 48, Philliskirk played more than 400 league matches as a striker, scoring 113 goals in total for Sheffield United, Oldham, Preston, Bolton, Peterborough, Burnley and Cardiff. At the end of his playing career he had two years as a referee, reaching Northern Premier League standard. This is his second spell as caretaker manager at Boundary Park, where he has learned that the "permanent" job is anything but. Oldham have had seven managers in the past 10 years. Joe Lovejoy10) Gray impresses MillwallSo Luton Town's FA Cup odyssey is over but, as Paul Buckle's men now focus on trying to achieve promotion from the Blue Square Bet Premier League, they can take hope from the level of commitment and endeavour they displayed during Saturday's 3-0 defeat by Millwall, if not the poor defending that allowed the visitors to establish an early lead. Particular hope can be taken from the performance of their top scorer, Andre Gray, who proved a constant threat with his quick and clever movement around Millwall's area. The 21-year-old, who joined Luton from Hinckley United last March and has scored 11 times this season, was unlucky not to do so with a near-post drive after six minutes and on this showing he could well be the man who propels Luton back into the Football League. Worringly for the Hatters, however, Kenny Jackett, the Millwall manager, is known to be an admirer of Gray and the chances of him making a summer bid for the player can only have increased having watching him up close at the weekend. Sachin Nakrani FA CupSwansea CityWigan AthleticArsenalManchester CityOldhamChelseaPremier LeagueTom BryantPaul DoyleJoe LovejoySachin NakraniDaniel HarrisRichard RaeDavid HytnerJamie JacksonAndy WilsonAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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