Steve Cooper admitted he understood the frustration of Swansea City fans as he conceded a goalless draw at home to QPR – without a single shot on target – was simply not good enough.
The Swans manager was reluctant to find fault with his team’s supporters who voiced their frustration at the final whistle at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday night.
A low quality contest where Swansea failed to trouble the Rangers’ goalkeeper – and the visitors were not good enough to take their own chances – leaves the Swans still in ninth place in the Championship table.
The clubs have also confirmed that midfielder George Byers – who injured his ankle in last weekend’s defeat to Derby – has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Asked if he felt a tally of zero shots on target was good enough, Cooper replied: “Not for the ability we have in the team. We know we can do better in the final third. We will aim to do better on Friday (away at Hull City).
“It wasn’t for a lack of trying. Our intention was to score, but QPR showed some resolute defending and we can do more in and around the box.
“We needed a bit of confidence, a bit of risk-taking to make a difference – and it didn’t happen. I get it (the fans’ frustrations) and we can do better and we will aim to.”
Cooper waited until the 74th minute of a lifeless performance to make his one and only substitution of the night when he replaced Yan Dhanda with Aldo Kalulu.
He added: We thought we had the players on the pitch to get that goal. We had lots of conversations on the bench.
“I thought Yan was doing quite well, but can run out of steam through lack of games. It wasn’t the ideal change bringing him off. But we’ve seen this year some changes have gone for and against us and we live with it.”
Cooper admitted Byers’ absence was a significant blow for a squad that already appears light in terms of experienced options.
“It’s a blow. He has had a high ankle sprain, which is unfortunate as the keeper landed on him. It did not look good straight away when it settled down on Saturday.
“He was scanned and it confirmed what the medics had initially thought. It rules him out for three months, which obviously keeps him out of the rest of the season.
“It’s a blow for him, and for us, and we need to support him during his recovery and getting him back during pre-season.”
QPR manager Mark Warburton said: “We should have been two up after 10 minutes. We had the chances and we restricted a very good Swansea team to no shots on target.
“It’s a clean sheet which is pleasing but we do feel we have dropped two points tonight. I thought we looked a very good team for long periods.
“Our players are getting into positions to take the chances but the clinical edge at the moment is not dropping our way.
“But if we deliver performances of that quality consistently, we will be fine.”
