Phil Sumbler“I think it’s testament to the character and mentality of the team that we always bounce back from a loss. Hopefully, we can do that again on Wednesday” – words from Swansea captain Matt Grimes ahead of the Swans game at Stoke this week which could prove to be a season defining one.
The Swans went into game number 29 of their Championship season with just 15 goals conceded but after three abject performances in a row we have now conceded 22 goals in 31 games and are on the back of two demoralising defeats in those three games which have put a dent in our promotion hopes.
The good news is that promotion is still very much in our hands thanks to our two games in hand but our record at Stoke isn’t the best which will just add to the challenge that the team is undertaking on Wednesday.
The positives are that we are yet to experience back to back league defeats under Steve Cooper and if you add to that the fact that Norwich and Brentford face each other at Carrow Road the table could look very favourable for us on Thursday morning with the right combination of results. The wrong combination however and it could prove to be season defining especially given the tough run of fixtures that we have ahead of us in the next 18 days ahead of the international break.
“Obviously, we’re still in a very good position,” added Grimes. “We’re having a very good season and we’ll look to bounce back. It is a tough place to go – everyone knows that – but we’ll do our preparation, get our recovery done and be ready to go again.
“We know that we let ourselves down on Saturday. I don’t think we played badly, but conceded three very sloppy goals and lost the game. It can happen, but we need to dust ourselves down and go again.”
