These are your Swansea City headlines on Sunday, February 12.
Pundit takes aim at 'soft' Swans defence
ITV pundit Jobi McAnuff has accused Swansea of being too soft and admits the Jack Army have every right to demand more from their side after Saturday's disappointing 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United.
Only relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic have conceded more Championship goals than the Swans this season, and Russell Martin's side displayed some comical defending at times during what was a largely comfortable afternoon for the Blades.
The Swans have now only managed two clean sheets in their last 14 games, a record McAnuff says just simply isn't good enough.
"For me, there's a softness about them defensively," he said when analysing the defeat at Bramall Lane for the EFL Highlights Show.
"It was summed up there [for the third goal]. It's a shocking attempt at a tackle there from Kyle Naughton. Someone so experienced and it ends up with a tap-in [for McBurnie].
"They've got to tighten up defensively. I know Russell Martin wants to play a good brand of football and be open and expansive.
"But they concede way too many goals, particularly during those transitional moments in games. They're going to give themselves a real tough time winning games if they can't keep clean sheets."
Martin's efforts have perhaps been hampered by a frustrating transfer window that saw the club fail to add a single player to his young squad.
He was keen to stress the positives when speaking to ITV after the game, but McAnuff says Swans fans have a right to demand more from their team.
"I think there's only so many times you can come out and say there were positives when you are losing games," he added.
"I understand he's got a tough balancing act. He's got younger players there and they had a nightmare of a transfer window, which clearly went the wrong way from their point of view. He's got to try and keep those younger players going so I get that.
"But at the same time fans see what they see on the pitch and at the moment it's just not good enough."
Boss: McBurnie upset about not starting vs Swans
Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom said Oli McBurnie was upset at not starting against his former club on Saturday.
McBurnie was named among the substitutes for the Bramall Lane clash, with the striker still getting back up to speed following a spell on the sidelines following hernia surgery, an ankle injury and a calf complaint.
He came off the bench with 18 minutes remaining and notched up the Blades' third goal.
Heckingbottom revealed he was pleased to see McBurnie's reaction when he was told he wasn't starting the match.
"The pleasing thing for me was that when I named the team and he wasn't starting I could see how upset he was," Heckingbottom told our sister title YorkshireLive.
"So that signalled he was fit because he has been carrying (an injury). I was pleased with that and it reassured me then that I have no qualms about putting him on. He puts himself forward, it's his old team and he wanted to play but I had to be sure that he was fit.
"You can see the situation of how we are with players and the size of the squad, especially at the top end. It was really important that we didn't take the risk."
Bony heading to South America
In random transfer news of the day, Wilfried Bony is set to sign for Bolivian side Always Ready.
The former Swansea striker has been without a club since leaving NEC Nijmegen in the Netherlands last summer.
He has been training with Newport County on and off for the past few years in a bid to maintain fitness, with the Exiles even considering signing Bony just before the turn of the year.
As a free agent, the 34-year-old can sign for any club at any time, and it appears that South America is his next destination.
Andrés Costa, president of the club, wrote on his social media channels: "A surprise for our fans. World Cup player, more than 140 goals in the first European divisions, Champions and Europa League, Champion of the African Cup of Nations. He played for Manchester City, Swansea, Sparta Prague and Vitesse among others."
Fulton: We need to do better
Jay Fulton says Swansea need to take advantage when they are on top in games after yet another defeat for Russell Martin's men.
Swansea started well at Bramall Lane against the Blades but it was the hosts who broke the deadlock and went on to see the game out comfortably, emerging 3-0 victors.
Martin bemoaned "silly moments" from Swansea, which are a recurring theme at present, and Fulton feels two of the three goals conceded just weren't good enough from their perspective.
“I felt like we started the first half well. We were getting into good positions and created a few chances,” said Fulton.
“It’s a tough place to come but the timing and manner of the goals were disappointing.
“The two goals – from our point of view – were poor ones to concede. They’re the opposite of us. They haven’t got many young players, so that’s a big difference. When we’re on top, we probably need to do better and manage things better.
“I think there are positives to take from the performance, but the way we conceded the goals is something we need to have a look at.”
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