Swansea City

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Former Wales striker Iwan Roberts says Swansea City's summer signings have it all to prove with the club in "massive trouble" at the wrong end of the Championship.

Swansea are only outside the bottom three on goal difference having slumped to a fifth successive league defeat at West Bromwich Albion last weekend.

There was a wave of optimism at Swansea after a summer transfer window which was widely regarded as the club's most successful in years.

But Roberts believes Swansea may have brought in too many players with no experience of the English second tier.

"At the start of the season, the majority of Swansea were fans were delighted with the window and the signings they brought in," Roberts told this week's Feast of Football podcast.

"I wasn't sure. I look at the business Wrexham did, bringing lads in who have had success in the Championship, and I think they had a far more successful window.

"There are a lot of unknowns in the Swansea squad - I think the jury is still out with a lot of the players Swansea signed in the summer.

"They better be ready for a fight, for a scrap, because they are right in it."

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Roberts was working as a pundit at The Hawthorns as Swansea went 2-0 up against the out-of-form Baggies only to lose 3-2 after a second-half collapse.

He felt Swansea were "very, very good in the first half", when new head coach Vitor Matos' determination to play with "intensity and high up the pitch" was in evidence.

But he added: "At half-time, as a Swansea player I'd have thought 'Ryan Mason's going to absolutely slaughter them in there, so we'd better be ready for the first 10 minutes of the second half'. And they weren't.

"As soon as the first goal went in, I was looking at that Swansea team and thinking they have gone.

"I think they are in massive trouble if you look at the games they have got coming up. It's a massive month for the Swans."

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It took Zan Vipotnik just under 12 seconds to put Swansea City ahead against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

The striker lobbed Baggies goalkeeper Josh Griffiths after a through ball from Goncalo Franco.

Vipotnik has impressed this season and his strike on the weekend made it seven Championship goals from 16 games.

But while the Slovenian's goal will be one of the quickest scored this season, it is not the fastest Swansea have ever scored.

That record has been held by Leonard Thompson for almost a century, after his strike against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1926.

Thompson spent five years with the Swans from 1922 to 1927, scoring 89 goals in 188 appearances.

His Wolves goal came after just 10 seconds and remains the quickest scored in Swansea's history - just.

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Swansea City are in a perilous position in the Championship after five straight league defeats.

The Swans are outside the division's relegation places on goal difference alone, and face crucial fixtures against Oxford United and Portsmouth over the next eight days.

We asked you, Swansea's fans, how concerned you were with the position Vitor Matos' team find themselves in.

Here is a selection of your responses.

Mark: Very worrying times, we seem to be going backwards each season and even with a 'successful' transfer window we are once again all at sea. Players fade after 30 minutes in every game and clearly do not have passion and heart for the club, each other, the manager or the fans.

Paul: It's not a good changing room at the moment, to be 2-0 up thinking we've won the game at West Brom is a massive mistake, there needs to be a bit more confidence in the squad.

Iwan: I'm not worried yet as the standard of players are better than the competition around the bottom of the league, although I might answer differently in two weeks.

Will: It strangely resembles when we got a relegated from the Premier League - years of slow decline, reckless summer spending and sacking managers right, left and centre. Are there going to be three teams worse than us? A tough question to answer right now. Yes, I am worried about Swansea!

Mike: Two absolute must-win games at home. Win and the outlook is a lot less bleak. Lose or draw and we really are looking in trouble. Matos is new to management and that was a huge gamble to appoint him. I hope the boys upstairs did their due diligence. Personally would have liked a more experienced manager but will support and back the club regardless.

Aaron: As a Swansea fan for the last 20 years or so, I'm the most concerned I've been for a while. So much faith was put into Alan Sheehan that he got the long-term gig and a lot of new promising young lads turned up. Yet almost everything has gone wrong.

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Swansea City are outside the Championship's relegation places on goal difference after suffering five straight league defeats.

New head coach Vitor Matos has had a difficult start to life in south Wales, with the Swans squandering a 2-0 lead at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday to lose 3-2.

The Swans' next two games are against the sides directly above and below them, as they welcome Oxford United and Portsmouth to the Swansea.com Stadium in the space of three days.

More defeats could leave the club in a perilous position going into the festive period of games, while two wins could see the Swans rise as high as 17th.

So how worried are you, Swansea fans?

Have your say here!

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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Vitor Matos suggested after Swansea City's defeat at West Bromwich Albion that he had seen "glimpses of what we can build from".

He may have a point, but his new team are not in a position where they can patiently wait for progress.

Swansea's alarming collapse in form means they need rapid results.

In fact, their next two fixtures, at home to Oxford United and Portsmouth, look about as significant as they can be given that they will be played in early December.

Swansea have slipped to 21st in the Championship after suffering a fifth successive league defeat this weekend.

They are only above Portsmouth, in 22nd, courtesy of a slight advantage in the goal difference column.

Oxford, meanwhile, are a place and a point above Swansea after they toppled Ipswich Town on Friday night.

Swansea must hope that at some stage this season, they can emulate Oxford by getting the better of some of the clubs who are in the top echelons of the division.

Their four wins so far, after all, have come against four of the sides who are currently in the second tier's bottom seven.

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They play the two they have not yet faced in their next two matches.

With 28 league fixtures still to play in 2025-26, it is surely too early to talk about must-win games.

But it is fair to suggest that Swansea are in desperate need of a couple of results to restore some of the belief and confidence which has ebbed away in the last three months.

The manner of Swansea's capitulation at The Hawthorns, after two fine goals in the first 12 minutes had put them in a commanding position, was worrying if not that surprising.

From the moment Aune Heggebo made it 2-1 two minutes into the second half, a West Brom victory looked close to inevitable, so it was no shock when Jayson Molumby scored the home side's winner five minutes from time.

There were few excuses for Swansea, either.

Matos had a full squad available, and the Swans were taking on an Albion team in poor form who were woeful before half-time.

To end up with nothing in such circumstances is particularly concerning for a Swansea side who expected much better this season.

With daunting away games at Stoke City and Coventry City around the corner – either side of a home encounter with in-form Wrexham – Matos' team could really do with positive results when they host Oxford next Saturday and Pompey three days later.

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Vitor Matos has told his players that only those showing "hunger and desire" will feature in his Swansea City side.

Head coach Matos takes charge of struggling Swansea for the second time when they travel to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Having watched on from the stands as Swansea were well beaten at Bristol City last weekend, Matos made four changes to the starting side for Tuesday's home loss to Derby County.

As he considers whether to give more players an opportunity at The Hawthorns, the Portuguese says mentality will be the biggest factor in the selection process.

"It's quite clear that we need hunger and they need desire and that's the starting point for the players as well," Matos said who is keen to play with a counter-press.

"I said to the boys it's one of the tickets to the team. They need to have this inside of them and we start building.

"Of course we need to take care of the freshness of the squad, but everyone needs to know that the one with hunger will play and the one who is willing to put in 100% effort will play."

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Matos has had only limited time on the training pitch with his full squad since officially taking charge at the Swansea.com Stadium on Monday.

But having slipped to within two points of the Championship's bottom three in midweek, Matos' new team need to deliver soon in order to ease concerns that a relegation scrap could lie ahead this winter.

"We still are getting to know each other, we are still making steps," Matos added.

"It's always different when we have pre-season because you have more time to create relationships, to bond more, but it's been good.

"Everyone is putting a lot of effort to change the momentum and that's important."

Swansea City will look to end their four match losing streak when they visit West Bromwich Albion on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Having marked his first game in charge with a loss, Swans boss Vitor Matos is currently waiting for his new backroom staff to arrive and will look to avoid a place in the bottom three should results elsewhere not fall their way.

Swansea are currently just two points ahead of Oxford United in 22nd place but their visitors are also having a tough time of it as late.

The Baggies have only won one of their past seven league games (D2 L4) and are falling off the pace of the top six to find themselves near the bottom end of the table.

• West Bromwich Albion earned four points from their league games against Swansea City last season (W1 D1), as many as they had in their previous seven meetings with the Swans (W1 D1 L5).

• Swansea City have lost their last two away league games against West Bromwich Albion, last losing three in a row from October 1927 to October 1929.

• West Brom have lost four of their last seven league games on a Saturday (W2 D1), as many defeats as in their previous 31 such games (W14 D13).

• Swansea have lost each of their last four league games; they last endured a longer streak in their final five matches of the 2017-18 Premier League season.

• 12 of Swansea's 16 Championship goals this season have come in the second half, including each of their last five goals.

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Swansea City's move to appoint Vitor Matos' new-look backroom team is being held up because the staff he wants are waiting to secure work permits.

Matos is keen to bring in Diogo Medeiros, his assistant at former club Maritimo, as well as coach Toze Mendes and analyst and coach Goncalo Ricca.

The trio are not expected to be involved when Swansea go to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, but the Championship club hope they will be on board by the time they host Oxford United on Saturday, 6 December.

Swansea legends Leon Britton and Joe Allen have joined Matos' staff on a short-term basis following the departures of Darren O'Dea and Richard Stearman, who were brought to the club by former boss Alan Sheehan.

Long-serving coach Kristian O'Leary and head of goalkeeping Martyn Margetson remain in place having also been part of Sheehan's management team.

"It's clear which kind of profiles I want. It's clear which kind of staff I want with me," Matos said.

"It takes a bit of time to do all the regulations and to make it everything clean. It's the legal part of the club who is taking care of that."

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Swansea City chief Tom Gorringe has admitted the decision to sack Alan Sheehan was because the club "needed a reset".

Vitor Matos was confirmed as new Swans boss this week, taking charge for the first time in the midweek defeat by Derby County.

His arrival came 13 days after Sheehan was axed, that decision coming less than seven months after the Irishman was installed as head coach on a three-year contract.

Sheehan's appointment followed a successful interim period in charge, but a disappointing start to the season led to his dismissal.

At the time the club stated that both performances and results had fallen below expectations.

But now, quizzed for the first time since the sacking, chief executive Tom Gorringe added that there was a feeling a fresh approach was needed.

Asked if, in hindsight, the decision to give Sheehan the job in the first place was a costly mistake, Gorringe said: "Ultimately Alan was given the job last season [after] he did a fantastic job taking interim charge of the team; he won five games in a row and that can't be sniffed at in the Championship, it doesn't happen very often.

"He worked incredibly hard and we're not here because for a want of trying - but ultimately we felt like it was the right time to make a change.

"We felt like the club needed a bit of a reset and we're really excited about all the future holds."

As well as dismissing Sheehan and coaching staff Darren O'Dea and Richard Stearman, Swansea have had to pay out compensation to land Matos from Maritimo – although the club claim it is less than the near £1m compensation the Portuguese side put into the public domain.

Swansea sit close to the Championship relegation places, with Matos saying before his first game in charge he was confident he could turn things around.

But Gorringe shied away from specific targets for the new man at the helm, simply saying the club were keen for improvements.

"I think we just want to get better," he said. "We're obviously ambitious as a club - there was a reasonable amount of investment in the summer and that was with a view to trying to build the squad and give us opportunities to improve.

"The reality is it's a very difficult league to compete in, probably more than it's ever been before, and so the only aim really is to get better.

"We see this as a long-term process we know it will take time for Vitor and his team to start to implement the processes and the outcomes that we all want to see.

"But the aim in the short term is just to get better, to come together as a club to unify the fan base, and to try and improve."

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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Swansea City have played 17 games this season and have 17 points on the board.

Carry on at such a miserable rate for the rest of 2025-26 and the Swans will be in grave danger of dropping into League One for the first time since 2008.

The good news for Swansea is that the end of the season is more than five months away, so there is still the chance to make something of this campaign.

But the pre-season goal of pushing for a play-off place seems a very long way off right now.

Swansea finished 2024-25 with a flourish, then enjoyed what was widely regarded as their best transfer window in years in the summer.

Yet for the moment, too many of Swansea's new recruits have not delivered and many of the club's older faces have failed to produce consistent form.

It is hardly a recipe for success.

Swansea's failings have already cost Alan Sheehan his job, with the Irishman sacked just over six months after he was given a three-year deal.

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Now Vitor Matos has the reins – and a four-year contract – after Swansea paid compensation to bring the 37-year-old to Wales from Maritimo.

New bosses sometimes enjoy honeymoon periods. Not Matos.

There were loud boos at the end of his first game in charge after Swansea were beaten by Derby County.

Presumably, the supporters' ire was not aimed at Matos, who cannot be blamed for Swansea's current plight given that he has only been in charge for a matter of days.

The boos were more likely the result of frustration over Swansea's abject form given that they started the season with renewed hope.

There was a genuine belief – within the club and in the stands – that Swansea could push on in 2025-26 after four successive mid-table finishes.

Yet with more than a third of the season now gone, Swansea's followers once again find themselves hoping merely to avoid a relegation scrap.

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Matos, who had managed just 11 league games in the Portuguese second tier before moving to Wales, is the man charged with turning Swansea's fortunes around.

And for the moment at least, he is having to work without the various members of his Maritimo staff who he wants at Swansea, with the Welsh club still attempting to finalise the potential appointments.

In his press conference after defeat on debut, Matos kept referring to the need for work on the training ground as he looks to revitalise a team who have managed only two league wins since August.

Yet in the Championship, the frequency of fixtures means there is often little time to focus on anything other than preparation for the next game.

There will be the usual post-match recovery work after Derby, for example, and Swansea travel north on Friday for their weekend game at West Brom, leaving little time for tactical sessions on the training pitch.

Amid the flurry of fixtures, Matos must try to get his message across having never previously worked in England's second tier.

All things considered, it does not look an easy task.

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John Eustace says Derby County did their homework on Vitor Matos' Maritimo side to prepare for Tuesday's 2-1 victory at Swansea City.

Matos' first game as Swansea boss ended in home defeat thanks to goals from Joe Ward and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen, with Ethan Galbraith's late strike offering scant consolation for the home side.

Head coach Eustace said the Rams studied Maritimo, the club Matos had managed since the summer - and got what they were expecting at the Swansea.com Stadium.

"We watched four or five of his games when he was manager there, looking at how he does things - we do things properly," Eustace said.

"Swansea play 4-3-3. They're a fantastic footballing team. Obviously, he's come from a team that played 4-3-3, so we expected 4-3-3."

Matos did indeed play a 4-3-3 system, with Eom Jisung and Ronald either side of Zan Vipotnik and Liam Cullen, Galbraith and Jay Fulton – who made his 300th Swansea appearance – in midfield.

That meant the likes of Marko Stamenic, Goncalo Franco, Zeidane Inoussa and Adam Idah began on the bench, while Malick Yalcouye did not even make the matchday squad.

Matos must now decide whether to reshuffle for Saturday's trip to West Bromwich Albion, where Swansea will hope to avoid a fifth successive Championship defeat.

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New Swansea City boss Vitor Matos will be able to turn to two club greats for assistance when he takes charge for the first time tonight against Derby County (19:45 GMT).

Former midfielders Leon Britton and Joe Allen – who boast more than 750 Swans appearances between them – have already been on the training ground to help Matos in his first days as Alan Sheehan's replacement.

Both were thought to have been consulted during the process to appoint Matos, and have now donned tracksuits to help with his introduction.

But Matos will soon add his own staff from Portugal – with club officials confirming they are working on deals to secure the 37-year-old's backroom.

Club stalwart Kris O'Leary and Wales goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson are both expected to stay in their roles at the Swansea.Com Stadium.

But with Darren O'Dea and Richard Stearman departing in the wake of Sheehan's sacking, Matos has a number of positions to fill.

Assistant Diogo Medeiros, experienced coach Toze Mendes and analyst and coach Goncalo Ricca are expected to follow Matos to south Wales from Maritimo.

"Leon and Joe have come in to support the coaching team in the short term while we head through this transition," said Swansea chief executive Tom Gorringe. "There's no two better people to come in and provide assistance, and to give an overview of the club and some context.

"But Vitor will be fully supported to build the team that gives him the best chance of success and we're working through that process at the moment, to provide the experience and the background that enables him to implement his ideas on the pitch."

Allen has hinted at a future in coaching having retired from playing in May. Britton, meanwhile, has previously held roles as caretaker manager, assistant manager and director of football following a storied Swans playing career.

Swansea face play-off chasing Derby County on Tuesday (19:45 GMT) as they look to avoid dropping closer to the relegation line.

The Swans are currently in a state of limbo, awaiting the arrival of Vitor Matos to take the reigns with caretaker Darren O'Dea unsure about his future with the club.

However, the Welsh side may have caught a break in facing the Rams this midweek. Derby's five match winning streak came to an end on Saturday after a 3-2 loss to Watford and they may be without star striker Carlton Morris for the trip.

• Swansea have won each of their last three league games against Derby, as many as in their previous 17 against the Rams (D7 L7).

• Derby have won just one of their last eight away league games against Swansea (D3 L4), losing the last three in a row since a 3-2 triumph in February 2020.

• Having been unbeaten at home in the league between April and September (W4 D4), Swansea have lost three of their four at home since the start of October (W1).

• Derby have won their last two away league games, last winning three in a row in the Championship back in July 2020.

• Derby's Carlton Morris has scored six away goals in the Championship this season. It's already his second highest tally away from home in a single Football League campaign, netting nine with Luton in their 2022-23 promotion season.