Time to give youth a chance?

Reading’s late equaliser on Monday afternoon had significant impact on a whole host of factors, not least of them being the fact that it killed any belief that the Swans may have had that the play offs were still in their grasp.

The last gasp strike from the home side left Russell Martin’s side seven points off the play off places with four games to go which, whilst mathematically possible to be a gap that can be closed we all know at this stage of the season it is not going to happen.

Which leaves the Swans boss in the very rare position of having four games left of the season – three of them at home – with, in theory, nothing to play for other than league points, position and the knowledge that a good run to the end of the season could still build momentum for next season.

The Swans do know that whilst the play offs may be out of place a place in the top half of the table is very much theirs for the taking – we are just four points off the 8th placed side with a game in hand on everyone in between bar Saturday’s opponents in Middlesbrough.

Martin though does have the chance to utilise now his full squad before the end of the season.   This time last week he talked about needing to make changes over the busy Easter weekend but he effectively made just about the same selection from both games played, two games that took his side’s unbeaten run to seven games.

But with those two games ending in draws and the play off hopes all but disappearing then now would be the time to make those changes and give a chance to the likes of Kyle Joseph, Cameron Congreve and even Finley Burns (assuming that Burns will be here next season anyway)

In terms of the first two they have seen fleeting glimpses of the first team in games whilst they have been on the bench but the occasional few minutes here and there will not give a strong gauge as to their current position regards their own development so is the time now to blood them with first team starts?

If nothing else it will allow the boss and his coaching team the chance to see how they cope with a Championship game from the off and give them a chance to stake their claim fully for a more involved part in next season’s team.  It would also give a better idea of areas that we need to strengthen in the summer and whether we do have viable options off the bench or in the starting line up going forward with these players.

There could even be the chance to introduce other players on the fringes of the first team into the matchday fold – every bit of experience can help the development of a player in this rare period of luxury where we have ‘dead rubbers’ ahead of us.

With four games left to go then a chance for each of them at least once seems to make sense and give them much needed valuable experience?  The question is whether Russell Martin feels the same.   We shall see.