Russell Martin's debut campaign as Swansea City boss reaches its climax this weekend.
The Swans host Queens Park Rangers in their final fixture of the 2021/22 campaign on Saturday, although the focus has long been on what promises to be a crucial summer transfer window. The release of Swansea's latest financial accounts have firmly put the spotlight on the position the club currently finds itself in.
The 38-page dossier published on Companies House serves as a timely reminder as to just how difficult a remit Martin and his staff signed up for when they joined from MK Dons last summer. The head coach himself recently admitted his reign in south Wales so far has felt like "pushing a rock uphill". You can read his comments in full here.
Read more: Swansea City lose millions but mass job cuts and Joe Rodon sale stem brutal impact of pandemic
The expensive acquisitions of players including Borja Baston, Sam Clucas and Roque Mesa among others feel like a distant memory for the Swans, a club who now find themselves far further down the food chain in the brutal world of transfers. Income dropped by £22.5m in the latest financial year while the club's broadcast, matchday and commercial revenue streams were all impacted, with the Covid-19 pandemic hitting hard.
By slashing its workforce, drastically reducing the overall wage bill and once again selling key players, the club have been able to ensure they remain in a far healthier position than many others in the Championship. Their relatively modest (in the grand scheme of things) pre-tax loss figure of £4.6m would've been more than £20m without the exits of stars including Joe Rodon, as highlighted by Price of Football.
To stem the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the club took out two interest-free loans from the English Football League while their other borrowing came in the form of loan notes from Jake Silverstein - with Swansea Football LLC matching the American's sum.
It has long been accepted that the 2021/22 season was going to be a transitional one, but the latest accounts fully expose the fact that Swansea are going to have to be smarter than ever in the upcoming transfer market. The huge hope supporters can have is that the club are continuing to generate assets.
The transfer values of Joel Piroe, Flynn Downes, Ben Cabango and Michael Obafemi have undoubtedly increased substantially as a result of their efforts under Swansea's current coaching staff so far. The plan is that even more gems can be brought to the Swansea.com Stadium over the course of the coming months and be polished to a high sheen.
The downside is that it means fans don't have too long to form bonds with their new beloved stars before inevitably having their hearts broken, as was the case with Messrs McBurnie, James, Rodon and Roberts. Put bluntly, Swansea are a selling club. However, the reality is, almost every club on these shores outside of the Premier League's elite are too.
Which player(s) do you think Swansea will sell in the summer? Have your say in our comments section here.
With the bold and bright philosophy of their young boss, Swansea are now bidding to build upwards having gone through the turbulent period of laying the foundations. The word ambition is often bandied about when discussing signings, with the size of fees paid often serving as a barometer for what some deem to be a scale in which to judge the levels of input from those in control of any given football club, or business for that matter. However, more does not guarantee success, as Swansea found out to their cost in the latter stages of their seven-year stay in the top flight.
There has to be a degree of trust between Swansea's owners and those on the ground at Fairwood if the club are to be serious promotion contenders next term, simply because they're attempting to do it with significantly reduced resources in comparison to the two previous seasons.
If the price is right, players will be sold. And that is entirely understandable, and quite frankly sensible for a club in Swansea's current situation. But that is a big if, and the powers that be simply have to stick to their guns to ensure they can give the current coaching staff the very best chance of taking the Swans back to the top flight.
So what have the owners said? The same as they did in their accounts from 2020, in fact.
"The directors are committed to facilitating the provision of funding necessary for investment in players, coaches and management to ensure the team is competitive," read a segment of the strategic report, signed off by chief executive Julian Winter, on the club's latest accounts. It went on to add: "However, this funding is dependent on player trading and/or external investment."
Swansea's position is clearer than ever, and, as a result, their approach in attempting to return to the big time is all the more understandable. Yet another monumental summer lies ahead for the club. It will feature pain, frustration and undoubtedly anger. But the positive signs since Martin's arrival at the club on August 1 last year show they have a head coach who understands exactly what his remit is, and it's one he's willing to fight tooth and tail for to ensure it ends with a success story.
