Planet Swans ArchivesAfter a fantastic home run that brought the side ten successive home games it has been followed by a defeat to Millwall and two draws against Tranmere and Bristol Rovers. But with 12 wins on the road now the Swans have an identical record away from the Liberty as they do at home – 12 wins and 5 draws from 20 games.
The side face five games in April – three at home and two away before ending the season at Brighton on the first Saturday in May and victory in the three home games will secure promotion for the Swans as a bare minimum although in reality probably only two of those games will do, potentially even less.
And that is not lost on Roberto who knows that the past few games have been nothing short of a blip and he is confident his side will rediscover their home form starting next weekend. Speaking to this weeks Wales on Sunday, the Swans boss said “I see League One in two groups: Nottingham Forest, Leeds – and Swansea City and the rest
“And that’s because of the expectations we all have. When things are going your way the fans can be an extra man but the stadium and fan base we have puts an extra responsibility on you. But the way we have all coped shows how far we have come as a football club.
“We have changed the way we play, our club philosophy and that all takes time. It did take a spell at the start of the season to understand that, to understand to be patient for us to break teams down.
“We have a group of players with the hunger and desire to be successful and with those characteristics it doesn’t matter if you are playing home or away. How many times in the fantastic history of this club have we had to win promotion to the Championship and be within reach of our record points tally?
“There are three league cup finals for us all to enjoy.
“One of the keys to success this year has been that we can be different playing away,” he said.
“And by doing that we have had the consistency that has given us our points tally.
“We’ve been able to do it because we have a big squad of talented players who have had the understanding that we need to adapt and change things around. You need that in League One, as opposed to the Championship, where you can be yourself both home and away because of the stadiums you play in, the surfaces and the way the league plays its football.
“Having to change has probably been the hardest thing in this division.
“But the players have enjoyed the challenge. We have had fantastic away support (an average of more than 1,000) and we have been able to deliver.
“Now we must continue to do so in our last three games.”
