Swansea City boss Graham Potter spoke to the press on Thursday afternoon ahead of the visit of Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
He will have to make do with left-back Martin Olsson at the weekend - and for the rest of the season - after the defender was ruled out for the campaign due to an Achilles injury.
The boss gave an update on the fitness of his squad, including Wilfried Bony, who seems to be touch and go for the clash against the Owls.
Read every single word of Potter's press conference below.
Key Events
Bony talk and transfer plans
So here we go, folks, the top line from the presser.
Potter on Bony speculation and whether Olsson injury has changed his transfer mindset.
Staff v Media press game
I don’t think I’d have made any difference. The media have got some good players!
12th - is that about right?
You can make arguments and assess the points tally but nothing is decided now. No one in May cares what position you were in December. It sounds boring I know but that’s just how we’ve done it in Sweden. The only time we were top was after the last match
More on fixtures
We seem to always play a lot of games in a short spell. That’s the nature of the league. The reality is, if you get nine points from three games, you won’t win the league and vice-versa. Rather than getting bogged down with games in short periods, let’s try and win on Saturday and understand it’s going to be a tough game for us.
Table position
There’ll be periods between now and May where there’ll be defining moments. That’s the beauty of the league. Every game is important and you always have to focus on the next one. If you look too far ahead you can come unstuck. We’ll carry on with that idea until the very last game.
Sheffield Wednesday struggles
It’s a big club, one that was in the playoffs a couple of years ago. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with it. They’ve got good players, they’ve shown that over the years, Bannan and Fletcher particularly, players who can hurt you. We have to be good and have a bit of luck.
Enquiries - Bony?
Nothing concrete. You know what it’s like at this time of the year. I tend to stay away from speculation. I just want to focus on Sheff Wednesday.
Injuries
Tom Carroll is still unavailable, Courtney Baker-Richardson is out, Wilfried Bony we’re just waiting on. Felt tightness in calf. Wayne and Nathan we’re fine after the game.
January…
Players have a career and want to play football. If they’re not playing it’s only fair to see if they can play elsewhere. But we can see. All I’ll say is they’ve never indicated they want to leave (Dyer/Routledge).
Dyer/Routledge involvement
I’m really pleased for them. They’ve had frustrating periods but they’ve worked really well. They’ve helped us get points that we’ve got because of the way they’ve been around the environment. It’s nice for them that they’ve showed what they can do. For the time they were on the pitch I thought they affected the game. When you look at the Brentford match, I was really pleased they added a bit of freshness to our group.
Versatile players?
I always think it’s good having players who can adapt to different positions and scenarios. It makes them better in their favoured position so we’ve got options in a few positions.
Difficult for John?
I think it’s patience. There’s an adaptation period and he was a bit unfortunate with picking up niggles and maybe hasn’t got going as well as he’d have liked but he’s working away and seems to be getting better over time. Matt (Grimes) did well in that position as well so there’s good competition. There’s a few options in there.
Declan John opportunity?
It means there’s an opportunity for someone else and we’ve got a few options in that position. We’re OK in terms of having it covered.
Changes plans in transfer market?
Not necessarily. Our plans for January are pretty constant. We know we need to improve if we can but like I’ve said previously, my job as a coach is to improve the players we have. At the same time we have to look to strengthen. It’s a blow to lose Martin but we’ve got options in that area. We have four games until the window opens so we’ll see what happens.
Left-back worry?
The most important thing for us is that he gets back fit. The contract situation is a separate one. We’ll have to speak with him and his representatives to do the best thing by him and the club. Anyone who gets injured like that, it’s a concern, regardless of the contract situation. This club is a good club with people that understand that it’s not just football, there’s other things and we need to make sure we look after people as best we can.
Olsson contract situation?
The focus is to try and help him get back to full fitness. The rest we’ll have to sit down with him and make a decision as a club as we will with a few other players.
Olsson
We were concerned when it happened and hoped for the best but feared the worst. It’s a blow for us and him. We’ve just got to try and get him back as quickly as we can.
Dhanda's goal
Before we hear from Potter, this from yesterday on Yan Dhanda is interesting.
After a dream start to his Swans career, he has found the going a little tougher in recent months.
Read the full interview with him here, but here is a snippet:
I keep my mindset positive at all times. Whether I am playing in the first team or the under-23s, I aim to keep improving in every game. I love how Swansea play football – it suits me – and I am enjoying my time here
On the agenda
Graham Potter will be with us at around 1.30pm. On the agenda will be:
- The injury to Martin Olsson - has he played his last game for Swansea?
- The crazy win over Brentford
- Getting back to winning ways at the Liberty
- Do Routledge and Dyer retain their places after impressing in West London?
- Daniel James’ rehab progress
- Will Wilfried Bony finally get a start?
Routledge on the young guns
“We have a really good nucleus of young players who can go on and make big careers for themselves. At the same time players like myself and Nathan feel we can help them along,” he told the club’s official website.
“It is nice to show we can help them and hopefully we can do that going forward.”
Wayne Routledge
Transfer news
Bit of tittle-tattle here before the presser.
Here is the latest update in Swansea’s reported chase for Ayr’s Lawrence Shankland.
Read what Ayr’s owner had to say. Head’s up - it isn’t encouraging for Swansea.
Welcome
Good morning everyone!
We’ll be hearing from Graham Potter this afternoon ahead of Saturday’s game.
He’s set to give an injury update, particularly after the hugely disappointing news that Martin Olsson will miss the rest of the season after rupturing his Achilles in the win over Brentford.
Stay tuned for all of the latest updates.
