What next for Swansea amid growing concerns?

Heightened expectations at Swansea City were very quickly replaced by growing concerns.

At the start of this season there was a belief – both in the Swansea dressing room and in the stands – that Alan Sheehan’s new side could push for a play-off place.

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At the very least, we were convinced that the relegation concerns that had appeared at times in recent seasons would not be a factor in 2025-2026.

And yet, here is Swansea, at the beginning of December, with Sheehan gone and his successor, Vitor Matos, under pressure to deliver results despite the club only being outside the bottom three in terms of goal difference.

BBC Sport Wales assesses what went wrong – and what’s next.

Players don’t deliver

Whether under Sheehan, Darren O’Dea – who endured a miserable afternoon as caretaker manager – or Matos, Swansea’s players have underperformed this season.

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Sheehan’s side finished the last campaign on a high, securing five successive league victories before the Irishman – who was then in caretaker charge – landed a three-year contract.

Yet this season, Swansea are yet to record back-to-back league triumphs.

They have only four Second Division wins in 18 games, all of those victories against clubs who are currently in the bottom seven teams in the division.

There will be debate over the strength of Swansea’s squad and whether the widely held view that the summer transfer window was the most positive in years was far from correct.

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But what is beyond doubt is that too many players fail to realize their potential.

Of the various summer signings, only midfielder Ethan Galbraith has impressed consistently.

The decision-makers at Sheehan and Swansea – chief executive Tom Gorringe and global head of analytics and recruitment Adam Worth, as well as the club’s ownership group – were excited about what their many new faces would bring.

For the moment, various developments on the transfer market remain to be justified.

That’s not to say Swansea’s struggles are all down to the lack of impact of their recent additions.

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Lawrence Vigouroux continued to impress in goal and Zan Vipotnik made great strides up front, but too many others who were at Swansea last season failed to give their best.

Off-field uncertainty

Swansea’s form in the final months of last season meant it was almost inevitable that Sheehan would be handed the long-term head coaching role.

But one wonders if it was the right decision given the difficulties of this campaign.

Kim Hellberg was reportedly identified as the leading alternative candidate to Sheehan during then-director of football Richard Montague’s managerial search in the spring.

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Montague left Swansea after just seven months in office in September, two months to the day before Sheehan was shown the door.

Hellberg then emerged as the favorite to succeed Sheehan, only for the Swede to opt for Middlesbrough and Swansea to turn to Matos.

As things stand, the Portuguese is working without your team behind the scenes from former club Maritimo as Swansea await news on whether Diogo Medeiros, Toze Mendes and Goncalo Ricca will be granted permission to work in the UK.

This is not ideal.

Swansea, meanwhile, do not have a director of football.

The former Bristol Rovers, Gorringe and Worth chief executive, who worked for various gambling companies before joining Swansea, took on Montague’s responsibilities following his departure.

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It is said that Swansea could look to replace Montague at some point, although the club have not said as much.

Presumably, Gorringe and Worth will oversee operations during the January transfer window, where more work may need to be done given Swansea’s struggles.

What do Swansea need now?

Matos could have some ideas for January, although how much funding will be available after a summer window in which Swansea spent around £15 million is questionable.

Players may have to leave to allow others to enter.

For now, of course, transfer discussions can wait.

There are seven matches remaining between now and January 1 and Swansea are desperate for results.

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Last Saturday Second-half collapse at West Brom means they have lost five league games in a row, the club’s worst league run since their final days in the Premier League in 2018.

Two potentially crucial matches follow, with Swansea hosting Oxford United – who are above them in the table – on Saturday and then Portsmouth – who are one place below – three days later.

With demanding away games at Stoke and Coventry – both sides of Wrexham at home – to follow, Matos’ side could really put up good results in each of their next two matches.

If the losing streak continues, after all, the alarm bells that could be heard at The Hawthorns will ring in Swansea’s ears.

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“Things need to change quickly,” says expert

Former Swansea midfielder Owain Tudur Jones, speaking on Radio Wales before the West Brom defeat, said: “Anyone who looks at this table and thinks Swansea aren’t struggling is wrong. It’s been a really bad run, a really poor few weeks that has led to the Swans finding themselves in this position.

“Three weeks ago you were saying they were only three points away from the play-offs, so things have to change and change quickly.

On whether Matos’ nomination brings hope: “That’s a tough question to answer because he’s obviously a good coach. His credentials as a coach… no problem there. But as a head coach, it’s a completely different thing.

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“It’s one thing to be on the training ground with young players at any club and doing business there, but the pressure and the control of being the head coach… it’s not just about what you do on a day-to-day basis on the training ground; it’s about dealing with the media, with the fans and the pressure of losing games and being in a relegation fight.

“He hasn’t had a taste of these things. A lot of that is unknown. Hopefully as the weeks go on and he settles in, we start to see what the Swans hierarchy saw in this man, and that he is the man to get them out of this difficult situation.”