Phil SumblerWhen Bournemouth left the Liberty at the start of December with a point in their pocket they sat one point ahead of the Swans with both sides having played seventeen games. When we meet this evening at the Vitality Stadium then the Swans will be thirteen points clear and having played a game less than our hosts.
Much water has gone under the bridge since the meeting of those two sides at the Liberty. The Swans have secured 39 points from 18 games whilst Bournemouth have managed just 25 from 19. A change in manager has done little to revive a fortune that has turned a team that was widely tipped for automatic promotion before Christmas into a side who could even see the play offs slip from their grasp.
After Saturday’s defeat at home to Barnsley the Cherries now sit five points off the play offs and another home defeat would leave them staring into a harsh reality that they may not even have a season that extends to the end of May let alone one that will see them dining at the top table again next season.
It is the start of a big few days for Steve Cooper’s side as we play Cardiff – another side chasing promotion – at the Liberty on Saturday evening with the real possibility that two good performances will not only see us eclipse last season’s points tally but retain our position as the side who has promotion in our own hands thanks to the game in hand.
It has been a tough few weeks for the Swans with the fixture list throwing out a Saturday/midweek fixture almost every week so far this year but one that we have met head on and whilst it may be true that performances may have declined in recent weeks the results have continued to flow as the form table shows with us in 4th place over the last 6 games.
We may have a ten point barrier to make up on leaders Norwich which suggests that those chasing are playing for second place at least but we can take much comfort from our form although I think almost all of us at the moment have half an eye on the last two away trips of the season that could hold significant relevance when we travel to Reading and Watford.
The Swans have gone into most games recently on a viewpoint that you take one game at a time though and, whilst it would be easy to do so, they won’t be getting focused on anything other than Bournemouth until the final whistle tomorrow evening.
And we know that Steve Cooper will keep his team focused completely and not worry about the teams around us as confirmed by captain Matt Grimes who said “what you can do is control what you are doing.
“We are in a great position and, if we take care of the business ourselves then anything can happen.”
Despite their indifferent form Bournemouth remain one of the leading scorers in this division – their tally of 52 goals has only been bettered by three clubs which will test a Swans defence that – two games apart – has been very tight all season. It does suggest we cannot sit back as much as we have in some recent games but at the same time we have to retain confidence that 26 goals conceded in 35 games should give us.
Both Watford and Brentford are also in action on Tuesday evening and both kicking off 45 minutes ahead of the Swans. After a weekend where the top four all secured a win it was a case of ‘as you were’ but something has to give at some point in what looks like being one of the closest promotion races for many a year.
Whatever your thoughts on the quality of the Swans performances in recent weeks the one thing you cannot take away from the side at the moment is that they dig in and largely deliver a result even if it is without a performance to go hand in hand. And if that continues at Bournemouth then the league table could look very nice come Wednesday morning indeed.
Cup final number 1. 10 will follow it.
