Pulling no punches whatsoever Swansea City manager Russell Martin stated post match his team just didn’t compete anywhere on the pitch. A comprehensive display by Preston North End including pace and pressing in the right areas put paid to any thoughts of a swans victory after an entertaining first fifteen minutes.
You could clearly see Martin was uncomfortable when interviewed, and the enormity of the job he and his training team have taken on is more than likely dawning on them very brightly indeed. No manager of any team wants to see his players perform like Swansea Citynsid today. Martin was clear about his sides failings,"It was a disappointing afternoon, I just think we were outfought physically, we were not aggressive enough and did not show enough intensity,” he said. I get it, but I cannot accept getting beat like that. They fought harder, they were really physical and aggressive and we could not handle it”
It’s not so much the words, this time you could see it hurt, the physical effect of the performance clearly opened up the managers emotional side. Martin states he doesn’t get emotional about results, well, today it was clearly evident he does. His experiential learning process he explores after all experiences needs to reflect upon, and thats before he faces his players in any match debriefs in the coming days. It simply want good enough,
Reviewing where he is at after 22 days as a Swansea manager there has to be some justification for such a poor performance. "Too many guys are at the end of a really hectic four-week period where they have been trying to get fit while playing matches because of a lack of pre-season games, or injuries or Covid. We had too many guys for whom this was a game too far. You can maybe get away with carrying one or two, but when you are carrying four, five or six it becomes really difficult”
Results and performances like this in the Championship do come along now and again, no matter who you are or what team is playing. Top or bottom, it doesn’t matter. However, if anything is to be achieved this season the pathetically weak showing in Lancashire has to be used as a catalyst for huge improvement. Martin agrees,"I know the guys are tired, but we have to do better, it has really hurt me the way we lost goals like that. It’s not good enough and the fans who were here today deserved better. "We made it hard for ourselves today, which is really disappointing. But we are now at the end of a really hectic schedule and now we actually have some time to work and we will be stronger for it."
After the international break two home games with Hull City and Millwall are up next. The two weeks Martin has to work with the players may well be extremely beneficial. The break couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s more opportunity to get to understand his ethos, and more chance for him to work with and see what he has in his squad.