Phil SumblerThe Swans finally have the chance this afternoon to put behind them the dismal performance at Stoke City on Tuesday night and concentrate on leapfrogging back above Bristol City in the Championship table.
A lunchtime kick off on a Sunday in the rain may not quite have the passion or excitement of a Saturday afternoon more traditional kick off time fixture but it is what the Swans have been dealt for the relatively local derby nature of the fixture.
Tuesday night was undoubtedly one of the low points of Russell Martin’s time here and both he and captain Matt Grimes have spoken about that performance in the way that most people saw it “Tuesday night against Stoke is the only game where I think we didn’t play well,” said Martin via the club’s official website.
Skipper Grimes added “Tuesday’s performance against Stoke was well below the levels we expect of ourselves and we came away hugely disappointed. We lacked intensity and the game was changed with the sending off and penalty but we were nowhere good enough on the night.”
The 3-0 defeat, coupled with Bristol City’s 2-1 win over Reading on Wednesday night saw the Robins move above the Swans in the table although the nature of the Championship at this stage of the season is that one or two results in either direction can make a difference.
“We’re determined to react positively and quickly,” added Grimes. “We face a Bristol City side high on confidence but we’ll ensure we approach the match with the right mindset and will be ready for whatever challenge.”
“Bristol City have people who are willing to work very hard and we know we will have to bring a real intensity and work ethic to the game,” said Martin as he looked ahead to the fixture.
Both manager and skipper called on the Jack Army to replicate the atmosphere at the Swansea.com Stadium last weekend which they believe helped them to victory over Blackburn. “It’ll be a brilliant atmosphere. I hope we can replicate the same atmosphere we had, especially from the second half against Blackburn,” said Martin as he anticipated the support of the twelfth man with a strong crowd expected including a maximum sell out for Bristol City of their allocation.
“Fixtures between Swansea and Bristol City are well known for their electric atmospheres and the match at Ashton Gate earlier in the season was no different,” ended Grimes.
The game kicks off at 1pm today.
