Phil Sumbler
Russell Martin comes face to face with Norwich City tomorrow for the first time in a competitive match as manager and will today be putting the final touches to his plans to take three points off his old club and move above them in the Championship table.
It has been a month since the Swans drew 0-0 at Huddersfield to move into the World Cup break in 8th place but a win tomorrow will move them above the Canaries and almost certainly into the division’s top six as we head towards Christmas.
The “P” word may not being uttered on a frequent basis in SA1 but the work of the season to date has left the Swans with a chance to build on that and mount a campaign that continues to see them in with a chance of a return to the Premier League.
The Championship is shaping up to be one of the tightest seasons in living memory – with the halfway mark almost on us there are just ten points behind Watford in 4th place and Wigan who currently sit in the final relegation spot. That tells you the importance of every game – two wins and you are pushing on the very top, two defeats and we could be back to looking nervously over our shoulders.
The visit of Norwich is the first of four games that emain in December for the Swans – Coventry and Reading will host our following two games before we end up at home to Watford in our last game of 2022.
Four games and a good return of points will see us head into the New Year in the right frame of mind and the Swans boss is ready for that to start tomorrow as he explained in his usual comments via the official site.
“I loved my time there,” he said when asked about his time at Carrow Road. “I love some of the people there that I had great relationships with, but that chapter of my life is done.
“My kids were born in Norwich, we really enjoyed living there, but the day you leave you have to accept it is done. Nothing stops because you leave, you realise that very quickly.
“I loved my time there, and I will never be anything other than grateful for the time I had there. I will look forward to seeing the people I know but that is as far as it goes.
“The focus has to be on what we are doing here. We had a good week in Scotland, which was really helpful.
“We are in a good place. We love the group we are working with here and what they are giving us.
“They are showing that courage and willingness to run for each other and to play. The group is growing all the time.
“We are trying to work on solutions to new problems we face, we are clear in what we want and how we are trying to achieve what we want to achieve and the challenge is to transfer that work from the training pitch into the performance against Norwich.”
The Swans against Norwich kicks off at 3pm tomorrow (10th December)
