Phil SumblerConor Hourihane summed it up nicely when he described the last few weeks for the Swans as us not playing at our best but digging in, grinding out results and getting points. It is certainly what feels like a fair description of the past eight games but ultimately eight games which have kept the Swans very much in the hunt for promotion.
It seems an absolute age since leaders Norwich were beaten at the Liberty and since then the football has become tired, the team have looked jaded but ultimately we have picked up 16 points from the 24 available with the return of 2 points per game widely discussed as sufficient for promotion over the course of any season.
The Swans go into this evening’s game in 3rd place in the Championship table, level on points with Watford but with a game in hand and three points clear of fourth placed Brentford. It appears to be a straight fight between the three sides for the right to join Norwich – who hold a 10 point lead – in the Premier League next time around.
Recent wins over Luton, Stoke, Coventry, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough have been greeted with indifference by many Swans fans who are disappointed with the levels of performance. Ultimately though all those five games have ended in wins and it is points, not performances, that decide the league table come the end of the season.
And whilst the Swans have not been at their best, Hourihane has it spot on when he says that the team are digging in and grinding out the results which is essential particularly in this season where the fixtures come much quicker than is the norm.
Our two games this week will take our tally for March to 6 games and 12 in 7 weeks since the start of February which tells yo much and it is a credit to the squad that we have kept our position at the top of the table.
“We have probably not played the best over the last few games, but we are showing a different side to ourselves at the moment – digging in, grinding games out and picking up points,” said Hourihane.
“Without making excuses, the pitches haven’t been great in our last few games, and that means you have to play the conditions a little differently. It shows we have different sides to our games, and that’s great because you have to mix it to win games in this division.
“We are not getting any time out on the training pitch at the moment, so it’s pretty hectic, but we’re working hard and are moving in the right direction.”
Hourihane himself has come under much criticism from the fanbase despite his five goals for the club since his switch to South Wales in January. There is little doubt that he has added a new angle to our game with goals and set pieces but still he remains the subject of much criticism over his effort during games and for some he is also almost solely responsible for our dip in in form. Form of course by way of performance if not by way of result.
Of course some – possibly even large parts – of the criticism is unwarranted and it is clear that the criticism is not registering on the mindset of Hourihane and he is ready for the challenge of Bournemouth this evening as he says is the rest of the squad.
“It’s another away game and another important match for us, but we’ve got a good team spirit in that changing room and we’re pushing each other as much as we can.”
And if the pushing each other means we dig in more, grind out more results and pick up more points then I don’t suspect there will be many moans come the middle of May.
The discontent is not with the style of football. It is that in nearly all the games we were worse than the opposition and very lucky to get the results we did. It isn’t grinding it out when the opposition dominate the ball, pass better than us and miss three sitters to let us win 1-0. That’s called riding your luck not grinding it out. Long may it last, but being lucky isn’t a strategy for winning matches.