Phil SumblerRussell Martin was a frustrated man on Wednesday night despite watching his side defeat Peterborough 3-2 at London Road and as he undertook his press conference on Friday he explained why that would have been the case.
Martin talked about an excellent first half from his side that had been undone thanks to a mad twenty minute period in the second half which saw the visitors fall behind before late goals from Michael Obafemi and Joel Piroe won the points that the Swans deserved.
However he talked in depth about his young age as a manager and learning his trade and showed a maturity beyond those years when he spoke about his reasons why he decided not to speak immediately after the game, saving his words for a later time for his players.
“We have to be relentless in what we want, we won the game and we deserved to win so I am really pleased with that,” said Martin.
“I keep being reminded I am the youngest manager in the EFL and I am still learning in managing my own emotions.ย The reason I decided not to speak the other day was because the guys did not deserve me to be angry or frustrated.
“I explained that to them today and they understood why I had some frustration. I did not want them to leave with knowing how I was feeling.
“It can never be just about winning and forget about what happened when we won.ย Maybe its because I am fairly young and still learning about myself all the time and as a group of staff we are all learning together.
“I was annoyed at Blackpool as we didn’t create enough, I tend not to get emotional about the result but I do about the performance.ย All we can ever control is that we give everything on the pitch.”
The Swans have the chance to build on that midweek win when Birmingham visit the Swansea.com stadium this afternoon and Martin wants one final effort before the international break means a two week gap between games for most of his squad.
“We have to try and turn it into a game that we want it to be.ย What I have liked about the two away games is that we have gone away and tried to be the team that we want to be.
“Birmingham pose a threat.ย They have a clear style that is very different to ours but they are clear in what they do and they are very good at it.ย They have good attacking prowess but it is about us at home and trying to be the team that we want to be.
“We have to bring big energy, its the last game before the international break and we have had a big week of travelling.ย We have to have one last big hit of energy and performance and hopefully we will be okay.”
