By Rob Cole
He may not have matched Billy McCandless’ 1948 record of winning his first three games in charge as manager of Swansea City, but Graham Potter is still working his magic on his return to British football.
How else can you account for Birmingham City not winning Friday night’s game. They battered the Swans into virtual submission, yet failed to convert any of their 17 shots, 14 of which came in a first-half in which they peppered the visiting goal.
In the end, the Swans somehow survived to leave Potter unbeaten in his opening three matches. Not a bad start given the huge upheaval at the Liberty Stadium since they were relegated from the Premier League last season.
The summer has seen a manager, Carlos Carvalhal, and a host of players depart. Potter and his back room team came in from Sweden, but there have been too few playing recruits to replace the mass exodus.
Potter’s side is thin on the ground, riding their luck and are likely to be stretched to the limit over a 46 match season. The pressure is only going to increase on Tuesday night when they host Leeds United.
“Everyone would say we need a couple more bodies just to support the group because it is a long, long season,” admitted Potter after Friday night’s 0-0 draw at Birmingham.
“A lot of players have gone out and not quite as many have come in, but you have to assess the group you have. The external solution is sometimes the easy option.
“Sometimes you have to look at what you have. We had Joe Rodon making his second appearance on Friday, and I thought he did really well at centre back.
“He’s been a great boost for us. Just like Conor Edwards and Dan James, he has come through the academy.
“If you look at the cvs of our players then the strength in depth isn’t there. But there are positives from a lack of external spending and our focus is on improving the guys we’ve got.
“We will look to the transfer window until it shuts to see if the right person can come in to help the group. We need to improve our processes and our performance and that takes a bit of time.
“The players have to be brave, they have to be smart and they have to learn when to make the right pass. And we will learn.
“We aren’t going to be perfect from day one, or even in a couple of years down the line. This is football and you have to respect the opposition and the competition and realise that teams aren’t going to make it easy for you.
“You have to adapt, and that’s the challenge for us because so many teams play in a different way.”
While former Swansea boss Garry Monk was left wondering how his strikers didn’t bury his old club under an avalanche of goals, Potter was puzzling how to bring the best out of his Kosovan recruit from Manchester City, Bersant Celina. His talent is obvious, but under the physical stresses and strains of the Championship he has given away far too much possession.
“We’ve got good wide players, Celina can play in between the spaces and with the players we’ve got we want to try to play and be the proactive side, But it’s not that straightforward,” added Potter.
“I was the happier of the two managers with a 0-0 draw. Birmingham made it difficult for us to pass through midfield and shut things down really well.
“It was difficult and it was a lesson for us in the first half, one that we will take away and use. We need to learn quickly, but the average of our match day squad was only 23.
“The fans understand what we went through in the summer and where we are now. They have been brilliant and have supported us really well.
“They know that a lot of players have gone and we are left with a relatively young group that is quite inexperienced at this level.
“Birmingham could have been out of sight in the first half, but we rode our luck and came away with a clean sheet away from home. All credit to the players and we move forward to Tuesday.”
