We are only a few days into the international break and already we are hearing plenty about it’s time to recharge the batteries and we will come back stronger for the break, each of them feels like an excuse for what has become a worrying series of sub standard performances.<\/p>\n
The positives are that the team sit 3rd in the Championship table and a chance of automatic promotion is very much alive.\u00a0 \u00a0The negatives are that we have completely lost touch with Norwich since we beat them at the Liberty at the start of last month and we are in danger of seeing the same happen to Watford who hit form at just the right time for them leading into the international break.<\/p>\n
It is fair to say that the team looked tired in the weeks leading up to the break but not all of our issues can be put down to that tiredness and we shouldn’t use it as an excuse given that there are 23 Championship sides who have had the same intense fixture list but have managed to put teams together.<\/p>\n
We worked hard to get ourselves into the position that we were in in February but since that Friday night when we were clearly a better side than Norwich we have looked second best for the large majority of every match that we have played.\u00a0 \u00a0Chances are few and far between, passes have become sloppy and it seems to be a lack of confidence that is impacting us more than any tiredness.\u00a0 \u00a0And if the squad was genuinely that tired then we would see more rotation than we are and a desire to change things up during games more with injections of fresh legs.<\/p>\n
Cooper said at the start of the week that we needed to regroup and work on the training ground during this group and now midfielder Korey Smith talks about recharging batteries in the time that we have and come back raring to go.\u00a0 I don’t disagree with Smith but at the same time we cannot surely keep doing the same thing game and game again.<\/p>\n
Against Cardiff we had 23 attempts at goal – 1 of them on target.\u00a0 The on target statistic is worrying enough but the 23 shots were not what we have been managing.\u00a0 The three games before Cardiff saw us have just 25 shots at goal with just 5 on target in three games.\u00a0 \u00a0That isn’t tiredness that is causing that, it is a defensive attitude.<\/p>\n
Fingers used to be pointed at Swansea that we were all about possession but (Cardiff excepted) we rarely have the majority of possession any more.\u00a0 \u00a0It may well be down to tiredness and only the return of football a week tomorrow after the break will tell us the answer to that but for me it is not about recharging the batteries it is about working out what we want to achieve and the best way to go about it because what we have done in the past month will not see us advance anywhere out of this division for next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve got mixed emotions going into the break. It’s frustrating obviously losing the last game and having to wait two weeks for another one,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, it’s an opportunity to recharge the batteries; we’ve had a lot of games. We’ve got to recharge.<\/p>\n
“The fixture list has been really demanding, and the time is right for a break. Then we’ll come back raring to go.”<\/p>\n
The key really from the break is to come back and prove that what we saw leading up to the Norwich game is the real Swansea City and not just that we weren’t able to deliver when it mattered.\u00a0 That is really all that matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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