Daniel James should forget about where he wants to be playing next season and just focus on football, according to his Swansea City manager Graham Potter.
James – arguably the quickest and most dangerous player in the Championship since the turn of the year – has yet to move any closer towards signing a new contract with the Swans who are keen for him to extend his current deal, which has a year left to run.
A number of clubs, including some in the Premier League, are interested in signing the Wales winger who could fetch up to three times the £7.5m Leeds United were prepared to pay in a series of installments back in January.
Even if the Swans do convince James to sign a new deal, then the expectation is that their American owners will attempt to cash in on him at some stage before next season.
But Potter has insisted he is prepared to wait until the current campaign is over and said: “He has to think about himself.
“He should talk to his family, he’s had a very busy first season. I almost feel for him. He should just play his football.
“It’s unfair on the player to keep putting him under the spotlight of a contract. We’ll see at the end of the season.
“There’s constant communication and talk but these things aren’t so simple.”
The various possible scenarios appear to have narrowed for the club, following last week’s heavy defeat at QPR.
The most unlikely event – that James might stay with the club having won promotion back to the Premier League – seemed to disappear with that abrupt ending of their three-match winning streak.
The Swans should be capable of quickly reversing that defeat with a home Good Friday game against struggling Rotherham, but the gap between themselves and the play-off positions is now nine points with just five games remaining.
Potter has set his team a target of 71 points – which would involve winning every one of those five games – but still thinks it won’t be enough to get them into the Championship play-offs.
The Swansea manager has told his players they should aim for the maximum, but it would seem to be an unfeasibly tall order.
This is a young team who can produce sublime football at home one week – good enough to sweep aside Manchester City at times – and then look like schoolkids who don’t want to get hurt when the ball is in air when they defend set-pieces away from home.
Potter said: “Our motivation is to get to 71 points and to do that we would have to win every game.
“So, every game left is very important for us and for our supporters. But I think 71 points is not going to be enough for us to get into the play-offs.
“We just want to finish with as many points as we can get and finish as high up the table as we can.”
Potter has been linked with the manager’s job at Celtic – currently occupied on a caretaker basis by Neil Lennon – but has dismissed the possibility it could happen.
“It’s just speculation from you guys in the media,” said Potter.
“I had a bit of a laugh about it with Oli McBurnie and George Byers as Rangers supporters, but apart from that there’s nothing in it as far as I am concerned.
“You want the football club you are working at to improve and progress and you want the same for yourself.
“That’s what everybody should be aspiring to. I have a job to do here and I am focused on that.”
Midfielder Bersant Celina will miss the Rotherham game through illness and it will still be too soon for any return for Leroy Fer, even though the recovering club captain is back in full training.
Potter has also heaped more heartfelt praise on Alan Curtis, his assistant coach who has announced he is bringing his coaching days to a close at the end of the season at the age of 65.
“For me, he’s been an incredible and supportive assistant as well as a fantastic human being,” added Potter.
“He is a quiet man, but he has an assuredness that means it’s just special to have him around.
“It was very good of him to come back and help us and he has been invaluable because he understood the identity of the club and what we wanted to create.
“He has been great for me, personally and the recognition of club presidency is brilliant. It’ll be great that he’s still going to be around and he’s welcome in our changing room whenever he wants.”
