The Swansea City manager saw his team rise up to 11th place on Tuesday night with a victory at West Brom and could see that position rise further if they can edge out Blackpool at the Liberty on Saturday.<\/p>\n
And that would be even more satisfying for the manager who was criticised early on in the season despite taking over at a club in turmoil and hit with one of the worst injury lists possible for a new manager.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the Western Mail though, Sousa could not hide his delight at finally proving people wrong \u201cThe fans have been patient \u2013 but some people haven\u2019t been,\u201d he said<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are now changing what they are saying, I have not.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the time I have said that sometimes it takes longer to build than others.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be some sort of god to know that when you win you will receive good words, when you don\u2019t it doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t happy because, in my opinion, it was too early to make judgements. Sometimes people don\u2019t recognise the difficulties we have had.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it is not about proving people wrong. I am not a person like that. I am a person who keeps believing in myself and my ideas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed in the players, I believed we would improve and I believe we will still improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese players will get better and better, and that, with winning games, will make everyone happy.<\/p>\n
\u201cTuesday doesn\u2019t prove we can beat anyone, it proves we are in a good way,\u201d said Sousa.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut this is not a surprise for me because from the beginning I have believed and I have kept believing in my players, in my club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still need more time to understand my philosophy, but we are getting there and they understand a little more all the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have played well. We have not lost for the last seven games. We have won a very important last game. But it is not enough for us. We have a long way to improve ourselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I expect from my players is to be ready to improve every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd my pride is to keep improving ourselves. I think we can see we are better organised, we are better as a team, but we still want more, we want to be more mature as a team and win games when the opportunities come.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know it can take a long time to get to the results you want,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd even then sometimes you make a step backwards before taking more steps in front of you.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want that, I want to win every game and I want that mentality in my players. And I can see it, in the small details, in training sessions, even at lunch, I can see if they want it or not, if they want to meet these important targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s important because if they achieve, I achieve, the club achieves, we all achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we know there is always danger when you are not focussed in your job.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially in this Championship where the league table shows you everyone can beat everyone and you have to be at your best.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I know, if we are at our best it\u2019s difficult to beat us. I don\u2019t have any doubts of this.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what we are working towards.<\/p>\n
\u201c Blackpool deserve to be where they are, they have played some fantastic football and they put a lot of effort on the pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the minimum for us is to have the same spirit and attitude, but also to have more heart because our talent can make the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n