Matt Grimes has insisted Swansea City will not allow a stumble to become a fall when they visit Bristol City tomorrow.
The Swans skipper believes his side will recover quickly from their first defeat of the season – one which cost them their place at the top of the Championship table.
Last week’s 1-0 reverse against Nottingham Forest at the Liberty Stadium was not a result many saw coming after the team had taken 16 points from six games, but Grimes insists it was a rare one-off and his side will prove as much at Ashton Gate, even though the home side are only two points and two places behind the Swans.
“You learn a lot more from defeat than victory and we’ll be ready for Bristol City,” said Grimes.
“I don’t think the international break took its toll or played any part in the defeat. You can make excuses for this and that, but we weren’t quite at it.
“It’s all about us, and I didn’t feel like the lads were tired after the break. We weren’t good enough.
“It will be a tough game in Bristol but confidence is still high. We learned a lot from last week. If you’d given us this position at the start of the season then we would have taken it.”
The Swans – at least a handful of them – will come up against a familiar face in Bristol if Ashley Williams makes his home debut for the Robins after a first appearance away at Stoke City last week.
The former Swans centre-back spent nine years at the Liberty Stadium, before moving on to Everton and then a loan spell at Stoke.
Now 35, Williams found himself left out of the Wales squad as he began the season without a club, before securing a short-term deal at Bristol.
Williams still believes he can fight his way back into the plans of Wales manager Ryan Giggs, although the youngster he would need to replace – the Swans’ Joe Rodon – has an opportunity tomorrow to show the generational wheel has turned.
Williams has admitted a comeback will not be easy and said: “For me, being a player for Wales, I want to play as many games as I can, get as many caps as I can and still be the captain.
“But for all of us, it’s brilliant that we’ve got competition across the board and at centre-half we’re quite strong.
“I’m pleased for Joe Rodon, he’s a great lad and I know him well from when I was at Swansea and I always thought he’d be a good player and I tried to help him.
“We have a good relationship so I was pleased to see him make his debut. The fact he’s doing well for Swansea is pleasing.”
