Swansea City travel north once again later today with a relatively fit and well versed squad to take on Blackpool on Saturday. We say well versed after Russell Martin and Kyle Naughton confirm that we will see a much more focussed Swansea side at Bloomfield Road who will attack the game with intensity and far more endeavour than we have seen recently.

Swans fans will be pleased to hear that Ben Cabango is fully fit and has recovered well from the poor performance at Oxford United in midweek. A victory for the U’s which has earned them around ten thousand pounds and a home draw against Crystal Palace in round two. We would hope he slots straight in to one of the back three defensive positions.

Joe Allen had a debut to forget at the Kassam Stadium, he looked well short on match fitness and was a part of the four man substitution on sixty minutes which has alarmed Swansea followers. Those subs most certainly contributed to the Oxford comeback and their win on penalties. One of the positives from Tuesday was Nathanael Ogbeta who worked hard and most certainly had a point to prove to the swans boss. Martin hasn’t recognised his contributions that much since joining from Shrewsbury Town in January. It’s almost as if Nathanael is paying the price for other decision makers behind his transfer from Shropshire. Ogbeta looked quick and capable throughout the game.

Jamie Paterson will face a late fitness test but he hasn't even come close to his performances prior to last Christmas, this season he has been certainly off the pace and ineffective.

Another scapegoat from last year Jay Fulton had a more positive game on Tuesday scoring a nicely placed free kick. From being a total outcast and clearly not wanted by Russell Martin last season he has left his mark already this season. Refusing to move to a number of clubs as the swans wanted him to do has left Martin with little choice but to select him. The fact of the matter is Fulton isn’t wanted by the swans boss, he has made that clear but with options at a premium in midfield he has little choice but to play him.

Another player disregarded is Ryan Bennett who as it stands won’t be moving to Reading due to his high salary, be that permanently or on loan. He will once again have no competitive football to play this weekend and hasn’t trained with the swans since early May. With three forward players now out on loan, Kyle Joseph at Oxford, Jordon Garrick at Lincoln and Morgan Whittaker to Plymouth there has been some freeing up of wages. Not enough to influence that much of a financial difference though. Cameron Evans has also joined Sligo Rovers on a permanent deal after his release from Swansea.

Swans fans know what to expect on Saturday but it really cannot be the same as last Saturday’s performance against Blackburn Rovers. The lack of intensity, competitiveness and desire was an absolute embarrassment for any professional footballer to be involved in. There will be a huge support for the club in Blackpool, and they expect nothing more than complete commitment in a Swansea shirt. For many now the excuses are wearing thin, last weekend was the catalyst for many to seriously question the ability of Russell Martin to deliver anything other than frustration to Swansea City.

Tuesday night made it far worse.

Another poor performance offering the same as we have seen in recent weeks and we could well see the Jack Army turn even more against the manager. None of us want that and positively speaking we want to see this Martinball revolution take off and for him to show us it can work. We want intensity and bravery, and we want goals and points. This next eight days are most certainly crucial to Russell Martin’s future, no matter how much of a supporter you are of him that has to be accepted.

Saturdays game against Blackpool is when the talking stops and the excuses are put to one side. The club and its supporters that travels furthest and longest throughout the season will have around sixteen hundred fans at Bloomfield Road on Saturday, and they expect a lot more than they have seen so far this season.

Photographs licensed from Reuters

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