Phil Sumbler
The Swans take on Middlesbrough at the Swansea.com stadium tomorrow with the visitors still very much holding strong play off ambitions – they arrive in SA1 just three points off the top six in the division but with a game in hand over 6th placed Sheffield United.
Boss Chris Wilder will be taking questions from the press this morning ahead of the fixture but it is unlikely that their hopes of a Premier League promotion will be at the front end of the questioning – the Boro boss is being heavily linked with the managerial role at Burnley following the sacking of Sean Dyche last week.
Wilder has, of course, Premier League experience having led Sheffield United to the top flight just a few short years ago before relegation last season saw them return to the Championship not long after he was sacked from the role.
He came back into management this season with a remit to try and get Middlesbrough back into the Premier League but with that remaining a distinct possibility still, speculation linking him with the Clarets job is something that tomorrow’s visitors could do without.
A run of four games without a win has pushed them down the table and Wilder will be wanting to reverse that trend tomorrow although he won’t be helped by the questioning that is likely to come his way this morning, certainly it will dominate the early parts of his press conference.
It was clear on Monday that Wilder was frustrated with the questioning after his side were beaten at home by Huddersfield but it remains a distraction for both him and the club at a time when focus needs to be on their vital remaining four games.
“Listen, I’m an emotional guy”, Wilder told Teeside live on Monday. “We’ve just got beat from a footballing point of view. I’ve just got beat as manager of Middlesbrough, so I can’t stop any of that stuff (Burnley speculation), but I’m not so sure it’s the right time to ask anything like that after a really disappointing defeat from our point of view.
“I just don’t think there’s a way out of talking about it. I think it’s really unfair on anybody. I’m manager of Middlesbrough – nobody knows what’s around the corner for anything, do they? I don’t know what you want me to say or what you want me to do. You’re after me dropping my guard and saying something daft.
“I’m Middlesbrough manager, I’m enjoying working at Middlesbrough, but we’ve just been defeated. Do you want me to come out with a boring one of ‘I’m flattered by whatever because we’re winning games of football?’ Well, we haven’t won today. So, that’s basically where it’s at.”
The Swans could move to within a point of Middlesbrough with a win tomorrow and this feels a good chance to capitalise on their recent poor form, the speculation surrounding their manager and the pressure that 1 point from 12 will now place on them.
And that is before you consider any frustration that Wilder may feel later on today.
