This week has shown the conflicting images of Swansea City’s future, one spectacularly positive and the other depressingly negative.

A superb performance and incredibly unfortunate defeat against quadruple-chasing Manchester City reminded fans of their club’s greatness, but on Thursday news emerged that the club is planning for redundancies as financial concerns once again dictate decisions.

It’s bizarre that both scenarios exist side by side.

Last Saturday the Jack Army was bursting with pride after watching an inexperienced side give the English champions a run for their money but just a few days later they were reminded of the club’s financial troubles as letters were distributed to non-playing staff, offering voluntary redundancies in a bid to cut the wage bill.

Emotions in football are always up and down and it’s not unusual to leap from happiness to sadness, from excitement to resentment and from pride to shame in a very short space of time. That’s once again been the case this week at the Liberty Stadium.

Swansea very nearly pulled off one of the shocks of the season last weekend. Few fans expected anything other than a thrashing when the two Cities met under the floodlights for an FA Cup quarter-final.

However, a young and inexperienced Swansea side, suffering from a number of key injuries, took the game to Pep Guardiola’s men and found themselves 2-0 up at half-time. Football fans across the world were stunned, not just by the astonishing scoreline but also by the nature in which it was achieved.

Swansea showed the kind of fluid passing football which made them household names a few years ago, defending resiliently but also attacking with pace and creativity. The flashy footwork was epitomised by Bersant Celina’s glorious finish which capped off one of the best moves of Swansea’s season.

That goal was shared extensively across social media and for the first time in years neutrals began associating Swansea with beautiful football.

Bersant Celina of Swansea City (left) scores a superb team goal against Man City

They were so close to pulling off one of the greatest results in the club’s history and had VAR been in place to spot the officials’ blunders for City’s equaliser and late winner, perhaps Swans fans would now be planning their trips to Wembley.

The nature of the defeat was gut-wrenching but the performance and attitude shown, along with Graham Potter’s tactical masterclass, gave us hope of better things to come. Seeing so many players in their early 20s playing the kind of football we all love to see gave us a vision of the club’s potential.

Imagine what could happen if the club keeps hold of Daniel James, Connor Roberts, Matt Grimes, Bersant Celina and the absent Oli McBurnie and Joe Rodon. Imagine what another year or two under Potter’s guidance could do to the Swans. Imagine the success which could be enjoyed by further developing this exciting and loveable squad.

Alas that balloon was well and truly popped later in the week when letters began sliding through people’s letterboxes.

The letters were sent to club staff warning that redundancies may be necessary to improve the club’s ailing financial situation.

This offer of voluntary redundancies is not a major surprise, the club’s off-field struggles since Premier League relegation are well-publicised. With an upcoming reduction in parachute payments and a number of high-earning players still on the club’s books, most fans understand the need for penny pinching.

Swansea City are facing job cuts off the pitch

But it’s another sobering reminder of the consequences of relegation and the fact that those punished most are often the ones who deserve it least.

The hard-working people who answer phones, sell merchandise in the club shop and keep the matchday experience running smoothly aren’t the ones who got us in this mess. These people aren’t the ones who got us relegated and yet they’re the ones worrying about their jobs.

Sadly, that’s football. The Swans aren’t alone in this respect. The system offers those at the top of the food chain far too much protection and those at the bottom far too little.

As well as being awful on a human level these forthcoming redundancies should act as another reminder to Swansea fans that a difficult summer awaits them. If the club is so desperate to find savings that it’s looking to get rid of everyday workers, we shouldn’t expect too much spending on the first-team squad.

Likewise if the club feels it can’t resist the temptation to slash the workforce in other areas, they’ll definitely struggle to turn down bids for talented young players currently earning a few thousand pounds a week.

You know, the ones who dazzled fans against Manchester City, the ones they’re meant to be rebuilding a club around.

It’s all so depressing. Swansea has a golden crop of youngsters but desperate overspending in the Premier League means these stars of the future may have to fulfil their potential elsewhere.