Tomorrow we see two head coaches looking downwards instead of upwards in a league game which most are now saying one has to win. The Swans and Canaries haven’t had the best of starts and in the case of Alan Sheehan and Liam Manning both are under a fair amount of pressure to win this fixture.
For Sheehan it’s about winning and performance, for Manning it is merely about getting points on the board after a shocking start, especially with the money spent by the club. Their sporting director, Ben Knapper is under pressure as much as Liam Manning. Norwich are yet to play both of the Sheffield clubs, the Swans have taken maximum points there, but there is a similarity to the Swans and Canaries. Drawing or losing by the odd goal is a feature. When they have lost by more - Leicester City beat the Swans 1-3 at home and Ipswich Town beat Norwich by the same result. Consistency is the real issue, getting within a goal of taking a point or winning a game has been a common thread for both sides going into this fixture.
Much the same as the Swans experienced last season up until new year.
The real bugbear for Swans fans is how on earth Sheehan can be so impactive in his caretaker role and be so poor now ? The fact is that come half time tomorrow the season is officially a quarter gone. Twenty five percent already ticked off. One win at home and two away is the real evidence that Sheehan hasn’t tried to change anything, nor has he addressed performance levels and overall strategy to win a game of football. He is undecided as to what team to put out, ignoring Melker Widell who in ten minutes in Wednesday evening made a huge case for inclusion tomorrow.
Malick Yalcouyé was sent off against Queens Park Rangers, Sheehan wasn’t happy but a decision was immediately made after the game to not appeal. That’s tells you all you need to know. On that Sheehan said, "But the reaction of jumping back. That's an experienced player or doing what has to be done, really, and we've suffered from that tonight. But look, Malik is a young player. We have him on loan from Brighton and he's a talent and we've suffered from that tonight But I'm not going to throw anybody under the bus or anything. This is just a learning curve and he'll get better for it”
Malick won’t be included of course, Ricardo Santos is in training but as yet to find his way back into the squad and there remains a number of fans who would like Adam Idah and Zān Vipotnik to start together. Ask the majority and they would include Melker Widell in their starting eleven along with Franco and Galbraith in midfield. That would mean Josh Key returning at right back and the rest pretty much picks itself. Manuel Benson is still struggling by all accounts (or he was on Tuesday) to make any impact this weekend.
⚽️ Is Manning burying his head in the sand ?
Make no doubts about it Liam Manning is in the same boat as Alan Sheehan, but he seems happy he has the clubs support to carry on, "For me it's fine. I'll keep my head down, I'll keep working. Ben's in constant contact with the owners around things, and the message is of support: 'Keep doing what you're doing.'
"We're quite clear on where we are, what we're doing, the direction we're going in. So for me it's that - I'll control what I can. I can't control the noise or external factors. All I can control is how hard I work and how much I give to the lads and the club. People around the place, I'd like to think, would say that I'm flat out trying to change things." That may sound like a please on his own behalf he is still hard at it. Going on he said, "I believe in the work we do, the culture we've created and the results that we'll see over time. That for me is the biggest bit: while we're trying to get to the level I know we're capable of, you have to pick results up along the way. I'm not stupid on that one. For me it's very much frustration, disappointment. I've got exactly the same feeling as everybody around the place, but I'm also able to park that in the back of my head and concentrate on what I need to do, which is making sure that the lads stay focused and ignore the noise”
Liam Manning would be foolish to ignore any ‘noise’ as he calls it, in fact he should be listening intently. That’s dismissing what Canaries fans are saying, and to ignore the fans is the first step on the road to the front door. Coupled with ‘I’ll keep my head down’ maybe also indicates he is blind to any criticism coming his way.
The intensity doesn’t stop there, defender Shane Duffy called a fan a ‘gimp’ on X and was reprimanded by Liam Manning. Duffy remarked afterwards he wasn’t happy with the criticism of the team at this current moment. On Wednesday the Canaries lost their sixth game on the trot. Fans do react, even at Swansea. On the injury front, Ante Crnac is out for the rest of the season with an ACL (cruciate ligament) injury. We understand defender, Jose Cordoba is also out tomorrow. Josh Sargent is fit as is Harry Darling (below) The Swans have missed Darling, his command of the penalty area and most certainly his runs forwards and threat at set pieces. As it stands the Swans are finding him a difficult player to replace.
Anyone who thinks this isn’t a must win for Swansea City is about as out of touch with the club as can be. This is a must win, Alan needs it more than anyone, and if he loses this one there will be further calls for his head. That clearly indicates this is a must win game.
⚽️ Read our Alan Sheehan report this week Alan Sheehan in focus