Vitor Matos has lost his first two games as Swansea's head coach [Rex Features]Gareth Vincent - BBC Sport WalesMon, December 1, 2025 at 1:50 PM UTC·6 min readIncreased expectations at Swansea City have very quickly been replaced by mounting concerns.
At the start of this season, there was belief – both within the Swansea dressing room and in the stands – that Alan Sheehan's new-look squad could push for a play-off place.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAt the very least, there was confidence that the relegation worries which have come in spells in recent seasons would not be a factor in 2025-26.
And yet here Swansea are in early December, with Sheehan gone and his successor, Vitor Matos, under pressure to deliver results with the club only outside the bottom three on goal difference.
BBC Sport Wales assesses what has gone wrong for – and what comes next.
Players not delivering
Whether under the guidance of Sheehan, Darren O'Dea – who endured one miserable afternoon as caretaker boss – or Matos, Swansea's players have not delivered often enough this season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSheehan's team finished the last campaign with a flourish, rattling up five successive Championship wins at one stage before the Irishman – who was then in caretaker charge - landed a three-year deal.
Yet this season, Swansea are yet to register back-to-back league triumphs.
They have managed only four second-tier victories in 18 games, with all those wins coming against clubs who are currently in the division's bottom seven teams.
There will be a debate over how strong Swansea's squad is, and whether the widely held view that the summer transfer window was the most positive in years was wide of the mark.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut what is not in question is that too many players are not fulfilling their potential.
Ethan Galbraith (centre) and Zan Viptonik (right) have impressed, but many Swansea players have struggled for form this season [Huw Evans Picture Agency]Of the various summer recruits, only midfielder Ethan Galbraith has impressed on a consistent basis.
Sheehan and Swansea's decision-makers – chief executive Tom Gorringe and global head of analytics and recruitment Adam Worth, plus the club's ownership group – were excited about what their many new faces would bring.
For the moment, various moves in the transfer market are still to be justified.
That is not to suggest Swansea's struggles are all down to the lack of impact made by their recent additions.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLawrence Vigouroux has continued to impress in goal and Zan Vipotnik has made great strides up front, but too many others who were at Swansea last season have failed to produce their best.
Off-field uncertainty
Swansea's form in the final months of last season meant it was almost inevitable that Sheehan would be given the head coach role on a long-term basis.
But questions are bound to be asked over whether that was the right call given the struggles of this campaign.
The suggestion is that Kim Hellberg was identified as the leading alternative candidate to Sheehan in the manager search led by then director of football Richard Montague in the spring.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMontague left Swansea after only seven months in the job in September, two months to the day before Sheehan was shown the door.
Hellberg then emerged as the favourite to take over from Sheehan, only for the Swede to opt for Middlesbrough and Swansea to turn to Matos.
Tom Gorringe was named Swansea chief executive in March having previously spent three years in the same role at Bristol Rovers [Huw Evans Picture Agency]As things stand, the Portuguese is working without his backroom team from former club Maritimo because Swansea are waiting for news on whether Diogo Medeiros, Toze Mendes and Goncalo Ricca will be granted permission to work in the UK.
It is hardly ideal.
Swansea, meanwhile, do not have a director of football.
Former Bristol Rovers chief executive Gorringe and Worth, who worked for various gambling companies before joining Swansea, took on Montague's responsibilities after he departed.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThere is talk that Swansea could look to replace Montague at some stage, though the club have not said as much.
Presumably, therefore, Gorringe and Worth will be overseeing operations during the January transfer window, where more work may need to be done given Swansea's struggles.
What do Swansea need now?
Matos might have some ideas for January, though what funding will be available after a summer window in which Swansea spent in the region of £15m is questionable.
It could be that players have to go to allow others to come in.
For the moment, of course, talk of transfers can wait.
There are seven fixtures to be played between now and 1 January and Swansea are in desperate need of results.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLast Saturday's second-half collapse at West Brom means they have lost five successive Championship games, the club's worst league streak since their final days in the Premier League in 2018.
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Two potentially pivotal fixtures come next, with Swansea hosting Oxford United – who are place above them in the table – on Saturday and then Portsmouth – who are a place below – three days later.
With demanding away games at Stoke and Coventry – either side of Wrexham at home – to follow, Matos' team could really do with results in each of their next two fixtures.
Should the losing run continue, after all, the alarm bells which could be heard at The Hawthorns will be ringing in Swansea ears.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement'Things need to change fast' - pundit view
Swansea have won only one of their past 10 league games [Rex Features]Former Swansea midfielder Owain Tudur Jones, speaking on Radio Wales before the West Brom defeat, said: "Anybody who's looking at that table and thinking Swansea aren't in trouble is fooling themself. It's been a really bad run, a really poor few weeks which has led to the Swans being in this position.
"Three weeks ago, you were talking about them being only three points off play-offs, so things need to change and change fast.
On whether Matos' appointment offers hope: "It's a difficult question to answer because he is obviously a good coach. His credentials as a coach…no problem at all there. But as a head coach, it's a completely different thing.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"It's one thing to be on the training ground with young players at whichever club, and doing the business there, but the pressure and scrutiny of being the head coach… it's not just about what you do day to day on the training field; it's about dealing with the media, dealing with the fans and the pressures of losing games and being in a relegation fight.
"He hasn't tasted these things. A lot of it is the unknown. Hopefully as the weeks go by and he settles in, we start to see what the Swans hierarchy saw in this man, and that he is the man to lead them out of this current predicament."
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