Swansea City head coach Russell Martin has admitted his team is playing with anxiety after they slumped to another defeat. The Swans lost for the fourth time in their last five games as they crashed to a 3-1 home defeat to Stoke City, having led 1-0 early on. It leaves them still in 12th place in the Championship, 11 points clear of the relegation zone, but Huddersfield, in 22nd place, has a game in hand.

Chelsea’ former Swansea City boss Graham Potter has the full support of the club’s hierarchy despite his side’s poor run of results. The Blues have won just twice in 14 games in all competitions and were beaten by the Premier League’s bottom side Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Potter’s expensively-assembled side left the pitch amidst anger and a chorus of boos at full-time, with some voices near the dugout calling for the former Brighton manager to leave.

Russell Martin has asked Swansea City fans for patience as he strives to bring more consistency to a team now treading water in the Championship. The club’s most recent defeat – a 1-0 loss away at Blackburn Rovers – means it’s just one win in five for the Swans, who have dropped down to 12 th place in the Championship. They are seven points adrift of the play-offs and 11 above the relegation zone and they have won just three times in 16 league matches.

Mark McGuinness was at the centre of a red card row as Cardiff City boosted their relegation battle with a dramatic 1-0 win at home to Reading. Bluebirds defender McGuinness was shown a yellow card for a lunging foul on Amadou Mbengue in the first half, but Reading manager Paul Ince was left furious with referee Darren Bond for not showing a red. It proved a significant decision as Romaine Sawyers smashed home a 91st minute goal from the edge of the box to hand Cardiff priceless back-to-back victories, moving them five points clear of the relegation zone.

Cardiff City fans will be hoping Perry Ng is feeling chilled and his feet are ice-cool when the Bluebirds host Reading on Friday night. It was Ng’s sweet free-kick that sent his club on their way to a 2-0 midweek victory at Birmingham City to bring to an end a 14-match winless streak. Bluebirds manager Sabri Lamouchi revealed that Ng was slotting plenty of free-kicks into the net in training and added: “We had two goals from him like this before the game in the training session.

Laura McAllister, the former Wales captain, has secured a place on Uefa’s executive committee. The 58-year-old had been due to stand for election for the post in April, but she has been appointed unopposed, making her the first Welsh person to serve on Uefa’s executive committee. McAllister had been backed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW). Uefa also confirmed that president Aleksander Ceferin will stand unopposed for re-election.

Swansea City head coach Russell Martin admitted he was a relieved man after his side avoided a slip-up against 10-man bottom club Blackpool to eke out a 2-1 win. A man down for over half an hour after the dismissal of Arsenal loanee Charlie Patino, the Tangerines cancelled out Matty Sorinola’s opener through a Sonny Carey goal in the 70th minute. But Sorinola’s cross was turned into his own goal by Blackpool defender Callum Connolly three minutes later to give the Swans their first win in four league games.

Kayleigh Green’s first-half penalty secured Wales a winning start in the 2023 Pinatar Cup, as they overcame a disciplined Philippines side to win 1-0. Wales manager Gemm Grainger admitted her team had been severely tested and said: “We always want to win games and find out more about ourselves. “Today, being able to play against a team playing at the World Cup this summer, to test ourselves, it was a tough game, they sat in deep and made us work.

Gemma Evans is already one of the best defenders in the WSL and will become an increasing influence for Wales, according to her manager Gemma Grainger. The 26-year-old Reading player will reach the 50-cap landmark if she plays in two of three matches at the Pinatar Cup in Spain over the next week. Wales meets the Philippines on Wednesday and Evans is in line to win cap number 49. “It’s been fantastic to work with Gemma,” said Grainger.

Sabri Lamouchi has praised Cardiff City’s fighting spirit after they gave him his first victory as manager and ended a 14-game winless run. Superb late strikes from Perry Ng and Callum Robinson earned Cardiff a 2-0 win at Birmingham City – a first under new boss Lamouchi in his fourth match in charge. The victory lifted the Bluebirds three points clear of the Championship relegation zone, but the clubs below them all have two games in hand.

Legendary former Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock has made a surprising return to the scene by taking the helm at Huddersfield Town – and will now be gunning for the Bluebirds. The 74-year-old, who previously managed Middlesbrough, stepped away from the sport last April, but has been enticed back by the opportunity to keep Huddersfield in the Championship. Warnock will officially start his duties at the club after returning from a holiday in the United States and will then set his sights on lifting Huddersfield above Cardiff in the depths of the Championship.

Swansea City manager Russell Martin, admitted that his team must put an end to the “silly moments” that have cost them after their 3-0 defeat against Sheffield United. Martin acknowledged the superiority of the home team, saying, “They have real quality to punish you with moments like that. “We’re playing against a team who manage the game better than anyone in the league.” The Swans’ defence was lacking in Yorkshire, and Martin noted that Sheffield United were better in the game’s “non-negotiables.”

The number of Welsh managers in the Premier League has dropped by 50 percent after Nathan Jones was sacked by Southampton. Jones had been one of two Welshman in the top flight – alongside Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest – but paid the price for a dreadful run of results. The Saints made their call on Sunday morning as the club fight for Premier League survival, with Jesse Marsch favourite to replace him.

Sabri Lamouchi insists he thinks Cardiff City can stay in the Championship, but admits: “I am not a magician.” The Bluebirds’ 3-1 defeat at home to Middlesbrough on Saturday means they have lost all three games since the Frenchman took charge. There has been no sign of a new manager bounce and Cardiff’s winless sequence now extends to 14 matches.

By Paul Jones Warren Gatland has insisted he not pensioned off the Wales old guard and it was always the plan to shake-up his Six Nations selection. That view, however, may not be the one taken by many fans who will see Gatland’s team selection for the game against Scotland as a changing of the […]

Russell Martin has dismissed any notion of leaving Swansea City – despite a disastrous transfer window. The head coach admitted he had “never felt as low” last week during which he suggested the responsibility for the club failing to bring in a single new player in January – but letting six leave – lay with the American owners and not those working in Swansea. Martin discussed the club’s recruitment failings with their owners this week but says: “Ultimately, I think it’ll turn out to be a positive for the club.

Former Cardiff City striker Kenny Miller has been sacked by Huddersfield as their assistant manager in a big shake up by the Bluebirds’ rivals for Championship survival. Miller, who was No.2 to fellow Scot Mark Fotheringham, has been dismissed with Fotheringham after little over four months in the job. The Terriers, third from bottom in the Sky Bet Championship, will begin the search for their fifth permanent head coach in less than three years after their winless league run was extended to five matches on Tuesday night.

Wales manager Gemma Grainger has paid tribute to Hannah Cain after the midfielder made it back to the international squad after 15 months out injured. The Leicester City player has been named by Grainger for the upcoming Pinatar Cup after recovering from a knee injury. Cain was given a first Wales cap by Grainger, having switched her allegiance from England, where she played under her now Wales boss for England’s under-17s, 19s and 21s.

Sheffield United denied Hollywood-owned Wrexham a blockbuster FA Cup clash with Tottenham as they won their fourth-round replay 3-1 with two goals deep into added time. The National League side’s journey under A-list actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has caught the imagination of the country and most neutrals would have been wanting them to set up a glamour showdown with Antonio Conte, Harry Kane and the like. And for large parts of the night that looked like it was in the script when Paul Mullin’s controversial penalty had cancelled out Anel Ahmedhodzic’s opener. Mullin has been the leading man for the Dragons over the last two seasons, but fluffed his lines when he missed a second penalty shortly after.

  By Paul Jones Wales midfielder Joe Allen has announced his retirement from international football. Allen, one of Wales’ greatest-ever midfielders, said “time and injuries” had taken their toll as he called time on his 74-cap career. “Playing for Wales has been a great passion and love in my life, I have been extremely fortunate,” […]