The Swans have Norwich City at home on Wednesday evening (KO 7.45pm) and then travel to Plymouth Argyle for Saturdays game (3pm) before the international break. If the two fixtures over the coming days are successful for head coach Michael Duff he may not welcome a pause in the fixture list yet again.

Both clubs are a real step up in opposition compared to Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall but the Swans have to be confident of getting something from both games. Confidence is high after those early fears that Duff was definitely not the man for the Swansea job. He still has his doubters and the more pragmatic Swans fan will err on the side of caution for sure.

If Jerry Yates and Kristian Pedersen are out injured, Pedersen is most certainly, then picking his side won’t be the hardest of tasks for Duff. Yes, he has Liam Cullen and Jamal Lowe as forward players but Mykola Kukharevych has announced himself to the Jack Army and has all the credentials of becoming a bit of a cult hero amongst those who desire such people in their lives. His swashbuckling style and an eye for goal, if worked on by Duff’s coaching staff can provide a good return on the goals front. He by no means looks the finished article, but he needs game time and if Yates is missing on Wednesday then it’s a fine opportunity to get him in to the starting eleven.

Speaking after his goal at Millwall, Mykola was extremely happy with his weekends work. “It’s a special feeling especially because we won the game, because that is important. It’s a good thing for me to score, and that will give me confidence for the future. We are so happy after our second win in a row. It gives us a lot of confidence, and it was nice to score some goals and keep a clean sheet. That’s important for us, we just have to keep going and keep working”

The working in training Mykola references is most certainly hard. Duff is renowned as being a tough taskmaster in training. He runs his teams hard and expects peak fitness. A few days out of the equation will see a drop in overall fitness, so with those two dead legs it’s really a possibility Yates will sit out Wednesdays fixture. A hard working Cullen and Lowe either side of Mykola will concentrate the minds of the Canaries defence for sure, Matt Grimes is looking more industrious and Charlie Patino despite his withdrawal at Millwall will be fit. It’s evident that Duff isn’t so sure on his defensive make up with Bashir Humphreys coming back in to the side yesterday on the left. With all that considered Harrison Ashby and Josh Tymon could well start on the bench again. Harry Darling and Ben Cabango both had good games and Josh Key provided a superb cross for the third goal.

That’s potentially how the Swans will line up at the back.

Carl Rushworth in goal is a no brainer. He saved the Swans at Millwall on several occasions and ensured the home side didn’t take advantage of a disorientated Swans defence in the first twenty minutes of the second half. There’s still Jay Fulton, Ollie Cooper and Liam Walsh to call upon as well. Jamie Paterson seems to have worked his way in to the affections of his new head coach and remains a decent option in front of Patino and Grimes. The omissions of Joe Allen and Nathan Wood may well cause a few headaches, but being honest Wood would be the only shoe in to the first eleven.

The sell out on Saturday for the trip to Plymouth, plus the excellent turn out at the New Den should give the Jack Army some positivity to make the extra effort to get along to the Swansea.Com Stadium this Wednesday. It’s a big ask, these trips are expensive and many Swans fans travel long distances even for home games. There are still tickets available for Wednesday, here’s hoping there’s a good take up this week on the back of six goals and none conceded over the past two league games.

Cover photo : Swansea City fans at Millwall : With permission Swansea City AFC

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