Swansea City are starting to look the real deal under Vitor Matos, with the team's best start to a league season in 103 years fuelling hopes of a return to the Premier League. The manager is trying to keep a lid on the excitement, but his efforts may soon become a losing battle.
Tuesday night's win was Swansea's seventh in 10 games, a run that has left them top of the Championship. Many traditionally start to draw conclusions about a team when the 'games played' column hits double figures, and a large number of jubilant fans in the away end at The Den might well have decided they'd just watched a team that's the real deal.
Character and togetherness in abundance
Grinding out a result at The Den takes plenty of guts, but Swansea had already shown their strength of character before the trip to south London. Saturday's win over Norwich City was the third time this season they've come from behind to win, and the second in as many games having edged past Lincoln City in strikingly similar circumstances before the international break. It's the best such record in the league right now.
"I think it says a lot about the character of the players we have," Matos said after the win at the weekend. "I'm really pleased with that. I think that's something that is really important for us. But I would prefer not to bounce back, of course. I'd prefer to win it without that! But when you have that situation it's really important that we keep believing that until the end it's always possible to turn it again."
The scenes at full-time on Tuesday night, both on the pitch and in the dressing room, also point to a fierce sense of togetherness in the group. The sight of a squad comprised of players from all corners of the globe coming together to belt out 'Yma o Hyd' inside the away dressing room is indicative of the strength with which this group has bought into the wider project.
Winging it
Increasing Swansea's threat in the wide areas was a central part of the brief for the summer transfer window. The Swans relied far too heavily on Zan Vipotnik's 23 goals last season, with Adam Idah second in the scoring charts with six. Ronald and Eom Jisung were the only wingers to score in the Championship, racking up six goals between them, and those numbers were clearly a frustration to Matos.
However, it's an area that has already seen a marked improvement this term, with nine of Swansea's goals this season coming from wingers. New boys Moussa Yeo and Joseph Opoku have clearly been a big reason for that. Yeo's strike against Norwich was his third in three games, while Opoku has two goals to his name too. Their presence in the squad may have even had a knock-on impact on the old guard too, with Eom and Ronald netting two goals apiece.
"That was something that we needed to improve, of course," said Matos recently when assessing the improvements seen in the wide areas. "It is something that has changed for us, having more solutions helps you create more variability. But overall the quality of the team's play has improved and found different ways to hurt opponents."
Enviable depth and a pressure-free January
Time and time again, Swansea have headed into a season with gaping holes in their squad. We all still remember when Luke Williams was forced to play Azeem Abdulai at left-back on the opening day of his first full season in charge, while even Alan Sheehan's side was notably lacking in attacking talent at times. But this is a Swansea squad with a level of depth we've just never seen before.
For instance, Goncalo Franco, a key player in Swansea's midfield since his arrival, didn't make his first start of the season until the win over Norwich on Saturday. Granted injury has been a big reason for his season being so heavily curtailed, but he hasn't been as sorely missed as he would have done in previous years. Marko Stamenic has been in and out in terms of starting. Melker Widell, Elijah Just and Stephen Eustaquio are all jostling for contention in the middle, while Jay Fulton has experienced something of a renaissance.
Out wide, talented Manchester City youngster Jeremy Monga can't get near this team. But given the form of his colleagues there isn't really a pressing argument for him to start right now. Up front, Swansea have a level of options that must surely spark plenty of envy among their rivals. Vipotnik, Idah, and summer signing Ross Stewart, would all walk into most Championship XIs.
There's potentially an argument for strengthening options at the back, but with the emergence of Filip Lissah and the success of summer signing Stephen Welsh, it feels preferable rather than essential. Swansea are subsequently approaching a January where, as things stand, they feasibly don't really have to do any significant business - and that's a very, very good place to be.
Case for defence strengthens
Speaking of the defence, Swansea remain pleasingly stingy at the back. They continue to lead the way in terms of goals conceded having shipped just seven so far. Tuesday was their fifth clean sheet of the season, which at the time of writing is the best in the division. Scoring goals is one thing, but any team with ambitions of promotion has to have a solid defensive foundation.
What's particularly encouraging is that three of those clean sheets have also come against sides that finished in the top eight last season in Millwall, Wrexham and Derby. Saturday's clash with West Ham United will clearly be one of their sternest tests so far, but having also dispatched newly-relegated Burnley earlier in the season, no one can really accuse the Swans of not playing anyone decent yet.
