Alan Sheehan remains cautious about committing to a long-term future at Swansea City, despite masterminding an extraordinary resurgence that has seen the Swans surge up the Championship table.
Swansea’s 2-1 win at Queens Park Rangers on Monday marked their fifth consecutive league victory — a run the club hasn’t achieved since 2007 — and brought their total haul under Sheehan to 23 points from 11 games.
It’s a turnaround that has taken them from relegation worries to within touching distance of the play-offs, just six points off the top six.
It would have been five clean sheets in a row had Karamoko Dembele not pulled a goal back for Rangers, with the west London side’s first effort on target.
Morgan Fox’s 29th-minute own goal put Swansea in front and Harry Darling doubled the score early in the second half for Sheehan’s side, who were only six points clear of the drop zone just over a month ago.
Still, the Irishman is not rushing into any decisions about whether he’ll take on the head coach’s job permanently, with just two games left this season and no confirmation from the club over future plans.
“Let’s see what happens. It’s not a given. We’ll see,” Sheehan said after the Loftus Road victory.
“If they want me to be the guy, we’ll have a conversation. It’s not a definite yes, it’s not a definite no. We need to be aligned as a football club."
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That sense of alignment is something Sheehan has been consistent about, despite growing calls from fans for him to stay.
“I think that's a conversation to be had – if they (Swansea) want it to be me, what does it look like? What do you expect?” he said.
“I have got massive affection for the players at this football club and if it comes down to it, I have got to be honest and think OK, are we aligned, is this possible?
“Because I don't want to just survive. I want to do something with the team."
With Swansea recently linked to other potential candidates — including Swedish coaches Kim Hellberg and Henrik Rydstrom — Sheehan’s position remains up in the air, even though he has made a compelling case through results and performances.
His impact has been transformative. When Sheehan stepped in as caretaker in February following Luke Williams’ departure, Swansea were hovering just six points above the relegation zone, having lost seven of their previous nine league matches.
Now, the club sits 14 points clear of danger and in their best run of form all season.
Swansea fans made their feelings known in west London, chanting in favour of Sheehan, whose tactical approach has delivered control, belief, and cohesion on the pitch.
“Very happy. For 70 minutes of the game we totally controlled it,” Sheehan said of the QPR match.
“The game was taking place in their half and if I’m being over-critical, I’d probably say we should have killed the game.
“But the momentum is very strong and credit to the players. I’m really happy with a lot of elements of the game today.”
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Reflecting on the club’s transformation under his guidance, Sheehan said: “I think what we have done obviously is quite exceptional in the Championship.
“I think suddenly what wasn't going to be a good season… now I think hopefully there's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel."
QPR manager Marti Cifuentes, meanwhile, was left frustrated by his side’s lacklustre performance, though he praised the impact of his substitutes and the debut of youngster Emmerson Sutton.
“Until minute 65, I didn’t like what I saw,” Cifuentes admitted.
“Credit to the guys showing resilience and a mentality to try to push and get something from the game. That push, even if I felt it was more about emotion than creating clear chances, we had the capacity to make them suffer a bit.”
He added: “Sometimes the opposition are just better than you – and they were better. They were aggressive in the way they pressed. We struggled with how to find solutions to this.”
As the Championship campaign nears its conclusion, Swansea’s place in the table — and Sheehan’s place in the dugout — are both in a far healthier position than anyone might have predicted two months ago.
But for now, Sheehan is focused on maintaining the team’s momentum and waiting for the right conversation with the club’s hierarchy.
“I love this club. It's been good to me, I have been good to it I think as well. We are in a good place that way,” he said.
“At the end I am sure I will have a conversation with the owners and see where we are at.”
