Potter demands more from Swans after stalemate

Posted Sunday, September 16, 2018 by PA

Swansea manager Graham Potter believes his side will have to improve on their 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest if they are to take anything from trips to Stoke and Middlesbrough.

The Welsh side played out a dull stalemate with Aitor Karanka’s men to get back into the playoff positions ahead of their challenging run.

“We have had two battling performances where we’ve been really up against it and come away with four points,” said Potter.

“The challenge for us is to improve our overall play, but we keep getting knock-backs which doesn’t help with consistency.

“We have 12 points and we know we need to get better heading into two really tough away fixtures.”

Forest winger Ben Osborn had a string of clear-cut opportunities to break the deadlock but had a nightmare in front of goal.

His first two chances came in the opening 10 minutes, but he could only skew a shot wide and find the gloves of Swansea goalkeeper Erwin Mulder.

Swansea’s Yan Dhanda almost capped his full league debut with a goal after half-time, but his shot was blocked away by Costel Pantillimon. Karanka’s side mounted a late assault, but Swansea survived to earn a point.

Potter added: “In the context we are happy with a point, we didn’t deserve anything more than that.

“It was a battling performance, where we had to overcome adversity during the game. We had patches of play but not enough for a home team.

“We had disruptions in the first half and had to adapt and work out how it was best to go about the game. It was a body blow to lose Bersant (Celina) and Jay (Fulton) at half-time but they stuck in it and got a point.”

Nottingham Forest manager Karanka believes they can build on their point in South Wales.

“We could have scored towards the end of the game, but I felt if we made one mistake they could have scored,” said Karanka.

“We could have won this game but the most important thing was to show team spirit and our hunger after Brentford.

“Without the ball, we pressed and caused them problems in possession. We need to keep this consistency and keep this intensity because we are sure to score goals with the quality we have. We missed chances today but this is normal when you are tired.

“Swansea are a very good team who demanded a lot from us but we will win a lot of games if we play this way.

“My concern is to play as well next Wednesday as today because we have another tough game and every game is difficult. We need to keep calm and trust this group of players because they are really good.”