Michael Looks Forward Although Not Quite Honestly?
Michael Laudrup was the master of stating the obvious when he said the next few fixtures are crucial to the Swans as another defeat - this time at home to Spurs - left them with no league wins in eight games after another frustrating afternoon at the Liberty Stadium.
Laudrup though was typically looking for positives as he applauded his side for dominating for thirty minutes (even if we were dominated after that point) although he did admit that the next six games were crucial to his team now given the opposition we are facing,
Fulham, West Ham, Cardiff, Stoke and Crystal Palace are all coming up in the next half dozen league games with four of them being amongst the five sides directly below us in the table and Stoke currently just one point ahead which outlines the crucial period that we are going into.
In the last six we have played five of the top seven so the next six will be in stark contrast to that and the Swans are in desperate need of a win after a poor run that has seen us pick up just three of the last twenty four points available.
A return in double figures from the next six games will ease the pressure on the team who have slid slowly down the table although there are only six points between the bottom eleven teams in the division which highlights just how timely a couple of quality results would be at this point in time.
"There are a lot of other teams in our situation, at least with the points." said Laudrup
"From tomorrow, there will be six points separating 10th position to 20th, and in the next six games, we play five direct opponents.
"The next six games will decide whether we suffer until the end of the season. The next four, especially, are key games.
"If we win the next couple of games, it can all change and it will give the whole team confidence.
"When you are struggling in terms of results, even when you do well you draw or lose. The only medicine is to win a game in the league.”
Those wins have been few and far apart in the last eleven months since we won the Capital One Cup at Wembley but surely we have too much about us to allow complacency to cost us a place in the division?
It has been easy in recent weeks to blame the results on the teams that we have been playing but now is the time where that excuse does not matter any more and it is now for us to produce the results that so many believe we are capable of.
The time to stand up and be counted is now - talk is now cheap!
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