Phil SumblerRussell Martin remained true to his beliefs and what he is looking to achieve at Swansea City when he faced the press yesterday with the Swans sat in 19th place in the Championship table and off the back of just one league win in their last eight in the competition.
Despite that disappointing run of results and the slip down the table Martin though is anything other than downbeat and talked openly about his relationship with the owners, his time at Swansea and his long term vision for the club which remains, ultimately, a return to the Premier League.
Never one to shy away from the questions, the Swans boss said “Listen I want us to win more games than we have done recently. There hasn’t been a huge issue in terms of performance levels, pretty much every game over the last four to six games we’ve had more chances and conceded one of the least amount of shots in that time.”
Martin was referring specifically to the last two defeats – against Hull and Luton – where he referenced both sides just having two shots on target during the games with the Swans losing 2-0 and 1-0 respectively.
“Tuesday was as bad as I have felt since we’ve been here, we didn’t deserve to lose the game. There was a lot of tension around the place frustration with the window which was difficult to navigate through,” he added.
“The supporters have been fantastic and the majority of them get the big picture that we are here to build something long term but I accept that we have to win more games while we are doing that.
“The most important thing for me is the connection to what we are trying to do and the purpose and vision of the team. We’ve forged friendships here that we will have for life. I will always have some form of connection here.
“In terms of league position we are not where we want be be but we will improve that, I have no doubt of it.”
“In terms of league position we are not where we want to be but we will improve that, I have no doubt of that.”
There was some suggestions at the start of the week that the relationship between manager and owners may becoming a little fraught but Martin was keen to point out that the owners bought into what he was trying to achieve and were happy with the progression being made.
“They are so supportive of what we are doing – all we ever talk about is the long term goal. I couldn’t ask any more from them in terms of what they are asking for us as coaching staff.
“They are clear on what they want and they really like what they are seeing and they really trust in us to deliver what they want.
“The long term goal is getting back in the Premier League but done in a different way compared to a lot of teams trying to get there in terms of financial power.
“Next season we need to have a better platform to build off with some new players to help us but for now this season is about bringing everyone together again.
“All I ask is everyone gets behind us and we can finish strongly and prepares us for having a go at everything next season.”
“When you don’t have the other resources the greatest commodity to have is time … we’ll have to get to the premier league by being different.”
Makes sense to me – Martinez’s project took four years to reach the top flight – and Swansea did it in our way back then.
Patience and belief.
Russell Martin is our man. The methods and the right players will gel and we’ll see results.
This is Graham Potter’s third season at Brighton. No doubt, people were calling for his head during the first season, fans probably wanted an Italian or Spanish ‘name’.
Change takes time, the long term plan here WILL work. Wait til this time next season – there will be a huge difference, like Huddersfield, Blackburn and QPR, who are now reaping the rewards of patience.
I appreciate that other fans will have different points of view and that is good and healthy – debate is always good. Abuse is unacceptable.
This is simply my view, and I believe we are on the right track.
Before anyone says it, I appreciate that Martinez’s project included enhancements from Sousa and Brendan Rogers. But they all built on what the Young Chester City assistant coach started.
If we hadn’t taken that gamble on a young, inexperienced coach (with tremendous vision) we might be playing hoofball in league two or lower and with no premier league or cup winning experience. We took a chance, saw the long term project and stuck to it. As each season went by we ironed out our problems.
Just saying.