Luke Williams desperate to see Swansea turn chances into goals after latest draw

Posted Sunday, October 06, 2024 by PA

Swansea manager Luke Williams is becoming frustrated at his side’s inability to finish their chances after playing out a goalless draw against Stoke.

The Swans extended their unbeaten home run in the Sky Bet Championship this season to five matches but three of those fixtures have been stalemates.

Williams feels the changes he has tried to implement in a bid to score more goals have yet to be picked up on by the players.

“We’re having the same talk in the dressing room game after game – I might just as well put the team meeting on repeat,” said Williams.

“It’s difficult to get away from that being the case, but there is a lot to be optimistic about because we only have to change a small amount.

“We’ve had three games at home that we’ve drawn that we should have won, and if we’d converted those draws into wins we would be sixth or seventh.

“The challenge for us has been to create more bit chances and we did that today. To do that at West Brom or Sheffield United, or even Norwich at home, is difficult against very good teams.

“When we played Sheffield (1-0 loss in midweek) they had only conceded one goal and we knew chances would be at a premium, but we created one unbelievable chance just before we conceded an own goal.

“Today is a more evenly contested game between the two teams but we created a lot of good chances. It’s encouraging and turning those chances into a reality would be perfect.

“The only way to do that is through relentless practice. The job for me as a sports psychologist is to convince them that when they see these moments they are opportunities for them.

“We are a team that works hard and is desperate to win. We’re 11th in the table at the moment, but it feels as though we are performing slightly above our mid-table position.”

The draw made it four points in the week for new Stoke boss Narcis Pelach following on from the 6-1 drubbing of Portsmouth three days earlier.

“I’ve only had 20 days in the building so I’ve not had much time to coach. But I think the body language and the attitude of the players has been amazing,” said Pelach.

“I’m pleased because that’s all I can ask. It’s just one point, but the performance was good because it was going to be difficult to put in another performance like we had midweek.

“It was a nice game of football to watch but without any goals. That’s strange given the amount of chances.”