Swansea City head coach Vitor Matos has said he is "not disappointed at all" by Ethan Galbraith's summer exit, insisting all parties were satisfied by the midfielder's move to Stoke City.
The Northern Ireland international joined the Potters at the beginning of July after turning down a new and improved deal with the Swans. He is now set to face his former employers this weekend, with Swansea travelling to Stoke on the opening day of the new Championship season.
No Hard Feelings
It remains to be seen what sort of reception awaits Galbraith from the travelling Swansea supporters, but Matos says there are no hard feelings.
"That's football," he said when asked about the exit. "I think every situation is different. In football and other areas, when all the parties are happy, the club buying is happy, the club selling is happy with amount of value it receives. When the player is happy too, everyone is happy. We move on, and that's it."
"I'm not disappointed at all," he added. "I think when everyone is happy with the situation, we are all happy, we need to work on the future. I think that's what's most important. We cannot work based on what could have been or what was before. We need to work on what we have. That is the most important thing in these kinds of situations, to look inside and see what is the next option."
Galbraith's Decision
The choice of Stoke as a destination was clearly a perplexing one for many Swans fans, who saw the move as a sideways step in a career some had expected to lead to the Premier League.
"I hope Gally is answering that question," Matos continued. "I think it's normal, it happens with so many players around the world… If we all believed that happiness was in the same place, that would be tricky because we would all be going there. Every person tries to find their place and Gally made a decision. I have nothing but good words to say about him. He is a really good kid and a really good professional who was really important for us in different phases of the season, in different roles as well."
Looking Forward
Matos has already seen six players come into the club this summer, and suggests it is now better to look forward as Swansea bid to embark on a new chapter.
"I think the most important thing now is that we know where we want to go. To see the market and find the profile that we want to improve," he said.
"But that's the market and that's football. These kinds of things happen and the most important thing is that when these kinds of things happen, you are prepared when they happen. We were and we keep building the team."
