These are your Swansea City headlines on Wednesday, February 9
Martin raises fitness concerns
Swansea head coach Russell Martin has questioned whether his current squad is fit enough to play the brand of football he wants.
His side were swotted aside 3-0 by Stoke City on Tuesday night and the 36-year-old couldn't hide his disappointment in his post-match debrief.
On his message to the players about the bigger picture after defeat to the Potters, he said: "Trying to put the long-term picture in, make them clear of what's expected, they need to be in the best physical shape possible.
"I don't think we've got enough of them who are, being brutally honest. Long term, that's it. Short term we have to dust ourselves off, take our medicine and we'll learn from it.
"This group of players as a rule generally since we've been here reacts brilliantly to a tough time.
"It's up to us now to make sure that happens. Tonight really hurts. The fans, the way they clapped the boys off at the end was incredible.
"I think they can see the guys are giving everything, they just didn't have enough tonight."
Walsh's Hull 'debut to forget'
Liam Walsh made his bow for Hull City last night but it was a night to forget for the on-loan Swan.
The Tigers went down 3-1 to Derby County to leave them firmly ensconced in a relegation battle.
Our sister title HullLive didn't seem too impressed with Walsh on his bow for the club, writing: "A debut to forget, in truth. Never got in the game, couldn’t cope with facing Bielik and did little to stop Derby’s third," giving him a three out of 10 score for his evening's work, the lowest of any player on the pitch for the away side.
Last week Walsh explained his motives for going on loan for the rest of the season.
"I tried for a long time through January and December to sort a loan move out because I feel like I've had a lack of minutes this season," Walsh told the Tigers' official website.
"I spoke to the new gaffer [Shota Arveladze] on deadline day. Where he wanted me playing is my natural position, which is a bit more deeper and getting on the ball.
"As soon as I heard that, that's all I've wanted from a manager from this season and last season.
"On Monday, I wasn't quite sure whether I was going to get the loan move done with it being deadline day.
"I didn't know until late on, until around 7pm. I got a call off the gaffer and everything sounded good and positive in what he said. I felt like it was the right move for me in the end."
Walsh's Swansea contract runs through until the summer of 2024.
Swans train at Burton
Martin revealed his players would train and go through a recovery session at St George's Park at Burton on Wednesday.
The close proximity to Stoke means it made sense to use the state-of-the-art facilities at England's base, where they stayed on Tuesday evening.
The heavy schedule looks to be catching up with Swansea at them moment, although the head coach was keen not to make excuses.
“We cannot be on here every Tuesday making excuses," he said.
"I said to them there, what they eat, how they sleep, what they drink, how they train, how they recover at Fairwood, how they recover tomorrow at St George’s Park – everything matters.
“Tonight we have come up against a physical, aggressive, very, very athletic team and that has been our downfall too many times this season, too many times.
"That is what happens when you inherit a squad late on, you are trying to play catch-up but we have to do it, we have to find a way and that's up to us to have another look at to make sure we don't encounter this again."
Whittaker on the mark
Morgan Whittaker scored his second goal for Lincoln City in their 2-1 over Morecambe on Tuesday night.
The on-loan Swansea forward registered a poacher's finish early on to help the Imps to all three points.
It was Whittaker's seventh turnout for the League One side, who are 17th in the standings.
Liam Cullen, also on loan in Lincolnshire, came off the bench late on to see out the game.
Cooper being managed at Newport
Newport County boss James Rowberry said Swans loan man Oli Cooper needed a break out of the team after benching the 22-year-old in the defeat to Northampton Town.
Cooper has played in 25 of 26 league games since signing with the Exiles and Rowberry says the midfielder needed a breather.
“He had started 19 games in a row for the first time in senior football," Rowberry said.
"I needed to manage him and his workload. We always had a thought of bringing him on and he did well when he came on.”
For the latest Swansea City news and analysis delivered straight to your inbox, you can sign up for our newsletter here.
