Phil SumblerFlynn Downes faced Nottingham Forest on Saturday in the unfamiliar position of the middle one of a back three as the Swans were beaten 4-1 on their own territory to make it three successive defeats for Russell Martin and create much debate over both tactics and playing style.
It was an eventful afternoon for Downes who was booked in the first half for what looked a particularly fair challenge to get the ball but he can also class himself as maybe lucky to have stayed on at the end of the game thanks to the hysterics of Brennan Johnson and his blatant cheating.
Thankfully the referee saw through Johnson’s antics and the Swans were able to keep eleven on the pitch although it made no impact on the day as we were simply torn apart in defence by Forest in the second half.
Downes’ booking – his fifth of the season – came at the time when he seemed to get the ball and concede a throw but the referee – not for the only time – was conned by the opposition and he doubled down (no pun intended) on the decision by waving the yellow card in the direction of Downes.
Downes though will not face a suspension for the yellow card – the 5 card cut off expires after 19 games and he will be available to face QPR at the weekend assuming that the Covid outbreak in their camp has cleared enough to allow the fixture to go ahead.
And he is happy to place himself back in the defensive line if needed “I didn’t mind it, I actually enjoyed it,” he said. “I think with the way we play suits me.
“I’ll play anywhere, I’ve told the gaffer that, but obviously we’ve got Kyle Naughton coming back and he’s the main man isn’t he so I’ll leave that to him.
“We’ve got a big squad and a lot of talented boys so I suppose that’s what you need if you’re a big club.”
Naughton himself missed the game on Saturday due to Covid within his family but he is expected to be back for the weekend visit to the Kian Prince Foundation Stadium and Downes is under no doubt what is needed from the Swans: “We need to build a bit of momentum. Before these last three games we were building that, we were getting a few wins and I think when that happens your confidence starts to build up and you play better, so we need to get back to that on Saturday and I’m sure we will.
“We go back to work on Monday, working hard and we go from there.”
