Phil SumblerAll eyes this evening are not quite on Stadium MK but on waiting for the news from there with people from both sides seemingly accepting that the news that was broken last night around Russell Martin is true and it is just a matter of time now until he is confirmed as the manager of the Swans.
And whilst Martin was present at the Dons league cup 5-0 defeat to Bournemouth this afternoon his potential new club was being beaten 3-1 at the Liberty by the Cherries South Coast rivals Southampton exposing some serious issues for the Swans that the new manager will need to address when he is finally appointed.
Aside from initial injury concerns over both captain Matt Grimes and Liam Walsh the defeat highlighted that the Swans are several players away from a squad capable of being competitive in the Championship this season and you would hope that assurances over the ability to fill those gaps are being given by Julian Winter who was notable by his absence from the Liberty this afternoon.
You would assume that Winter was a couple of hundred miles away somewhere near Milton Keynes ready to open the official discussions to seal the three year contract that was reported to be agreed in principle last night.
We know the Swans squad is weaker than it was last season but the 5,000 strong home crowd was hopeful of a Swans win when an own goal gave them an early lead but it was a false dawn as a minute later they were pegged back to level and the visitors went onto add two more goals.
It is easy to assume that the starting XI for the Swans was close to the one who could currently start next weekend but with Walsh being taken off as a ‘precaution’ and Grimes missing through injury (although there was much discussion that he could miss next week through having departed) the lack of depth in the Swans squad will be cruelly exposed by next week particularly when you look at the bench.
The addition of a central defender, midfielder and proven goalscorer could well be required ahead of the new season and if Martin wants wingers then at least one or two of those would not go amiss.ย ย All pointing towards a busy week for a man that everyone is expecting to be unveiled before the weekend is out.
That was certainly the case from Stadium MK and a disappointed dressing room after the game with captain Dean Lewington trying to sum up the mood when he said after the game “We love working with him and the team, and we don’t want it to happen. There is a lot of apprehension. I don’t want to make excuses but it’s a sad changing room.ย It’s been an incredible 18 months.”
In Swansea, Alan Tate was talking up his potential new boss although he clearly was admitting at the same time he had not really seen much – if any – of the brand of football everyone thinks he will bring to Swansea.ย ย “The passing style he likes to play is synonymous with this club,” Tate said.
“So hopefully he comes in and matches results with performances.
“I haven’t seen too many MK Dons games if I am honest but I know he faced a challenge when he first took over and they were at the bottom. He managed to get them out of it.
“He had an up and down season last year I think it’s fair to say, with where they finished, but he has got a philosophy and he believes in it which is brilliant.
“If he can bring that here and get some consistency with it then the fans, the players and the club will be loving it.”
So as the curtain comes down on a pretty dreadful close season for the Swans we await the first part of the final stages of the jigsaw and that is the manager and it appears, on the evidence of today, that Mr Martin has a pretty busy first week ahead of him with the opening day at Blackburn now just seven days away.
Swansea City:ย Steven Benda; Kyle Naughton, Ryan Bennett (captain) (Scott Butler 90), Ben Cabango, Jake Bidwell (Lincoln McFayden 90); Korey Smith (Ollie Cooper 75), Liam Walsh (Dan Williams 32), Yan Dhanda (Ben Lloyd 84); Morgan Whittaker (Joel Piroe 60), Liam Cullen (Kyle Joseph 84), Jamal Lowe.
Unused Substitutes:ย Ben Hamer.
Southampton:ย Alex McCarthy; Kyle Walker-Peters (Yan Valery 60), Oriol Romeu (captain) (Ibrahima Diallo 46), Shane Long (Michael Obafemi 60), Che Adams (Danny Ings 60), Nathan Redmond (Mohamed Elyounoussi 60), Stuart Armstrong (Ryan Finnigan 73), Moussa Djenepo (Romain Perraud 60), Mohamed Salisu (Jack Stephens 60), Nathan Tella (Theo Walcott 60). Jan Bednarek (Oludare Olufunwa 81).
Unused Substitutes:ย Harry Lewis, Fraser Forster.
Attendance:ย 5,091
The comments above seem to confirm that Russell Martin is about to join us.
Regarding the squad, however, can anyone answer a question for me? Will Jay Fultonโs red card at Wembley rule him out of next Saturdayโs match through suspension?