Phil SumblerRussell Martin has stated that he will be utilising his squad when the Swans travel to league leaders Bournemouth tomorrow looking to build on the excellent midweek win at Coventry which secured a fourth win in the last five games.
Martin was looking back at the Swans defeat at Birmingham at the end of the last three games in a week period and wants to avoid a repeat of the mistakes that were made in that game which he put down to tiredness off the back of two wins prior to that.
The suggestion from the boss that he is ready to make changes almost certainly will mean a start for Flynn Downes who has come off the bench in the last two games but looks set to regain his midfield spot you would assume at the expense of Olivier Ntcham but could easily be instead of Korey Smith.
Another change could be a starting position for Michael Obafemi although it is difficult to see Martin wanting to rest either Jamie Paterson or Joel Piroe so that one seems more likely to be a place on the bench again for the striker who signed from Bournemouth’s near neighbours Southampton back in the summer.
“There will be a change, I’m sure of that. With the way we play with intensity and tempo, it’s not easy to keep playing at this level. It’s a balance of work and rest between the two games,” Martin said in his press conference.
“In the last three-game week at Birmingham we lacked energy in the second half. It still hurts me that we lost that game.
“These guys are in a better place physically since then because of the work they’ve done and the games they’ve got in their legs.”
So it does seem like the change of Downes into the midfield is the only likely change to a starting line up and makes sense not just from a freshness point of view but to ensure we retain a tight midfield unit against a side that will be looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the season against Preston in midweek.
