Here's your round-up of all the latest Swansea City headlines for Saturday, February 26.
Martin - compromise a slippery slope
Russell Martin has insisted that he has not interest in entertaining the the 'slippery slope' of compromising his managerial principles.
Swansea head to West Bromwich Albion on Monday on the back of heavy defeats at Stoke City and Sheffield United, a run that has once again brought Martin's methods under the microscope.
However, he insists he has not intention of abandoning his core philosophies, having launched another staunch defence of his methods ahead of the trip to the Hawthorns.
“What we have is a way of playing that does challenge other teams. We speak to other coaches and players and they are telling us they have to do an awful lot of work on how they are out of possession,” he said.
“It’s up to us to find the solution to different problems we may face, if people think it’s predictable then we have to become so good at it that we can still really hurt teams. I think we have shown we can do that.
“We have to be able to mix it up more for sure, I think we have got trapped a few times recently in ways we are trying to avoid and hopefully you will see a difference in that with more work on the training pitch ahead of Monday night.
“But, when you have a very clear vision for something, and you have been asked to bring something to this club, the minute you compromise on one thing that is really important to the team it becomes a slippery slope, in my opinion.
“I have been there as a player lots of times, you start doing that and maybe one thing becomes a grey area. Then it happens with the next thing, and the next thing, and before you know it you are just like everyone else."
Grimes sends warning to Baggies
Matt Grimes says Swansea are focused on giving the very best version of themselves against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
The Swans skipper says he's under no illusions about the improvements needed following the Swans' hammering at Bramall Lane last weekend, adding that a full week on the training ground has given them every chance against the Baggies, who are struggling for form themselves.
“We are under no illusion that we’re going to have games like that this year. We were poor, there was no doubt about it,” Grimes said about the result at Sheffield United.
“We know what we want to do and how to do it but when we were lacking intensity it undermined us. When we are good we are absolutely incredible but when we were bad we were really bad.
“The way we play is so demanding on every single player being bang on it. If one or two aren’t there then the whole system fails. We need to deliver on the pitch and in the Stoke and Sheffield United games we were nowhere near it.”
“We have finally been able to train properly as a group for the first time since Preston,” he added.
“It's been good to get time on the training pitch to get some reminders on how we want to play. Sometimes it is easy to let tiredness or inconsistency kick in. It's been a good week of hard training and we’re looking forward to Monday.
“Monday is all about us and we need to get over our rough patch and our good week’s training will allow us to be the best version of ourselves”
Whitestone appointed for Monday night
Dean Whitestone has been appointed referee for Swansea's trip to West Brom.
The Northamptonshire official will be assisted by Steven Meredith and Shaun Hudson, while Matthew Donohue is set to be the fourth official.
It's only the second time Whitestone has officiated a Swansea away game, with his last one being the 2-0 win over Bristol City in February 2011.
Young Swans slip to defeat
Swansea's Under-18s suffered their first defeat of 2022 as Professional Development League leaders Charlton Athletic eased their way to victory at Landore.
A brace from Miles Leaburn, as well as goals from Mack Reilly and Ryan Huke were enough to seal the win for the Addicks, although Iwan Morgan did manage to hit back with two goals of his own for the Swans.
Under-18s boss Darren Davies felt that his side’s performance deserved more from the game but were made to pay for conceding poor goals.
“We always analyse the performance and within that there is a lot to be pleased with, the commitment and desire was fantastic, there is plenty to be pleased about even though it’s a disappointing result,” he said.
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