Carlton Palmer believes Swansea City are genuine play-off contenders this season but admits they will be short in the race for a top two spot.
The Swans have surged up the Championship table of late following a sequence of four successive wins ahead of this weekend's trip to Burnley. Victory over Watford lifted Swansea into the top six for the first time under Russell Martin while they are now just three points off top spot.
It represents an impressive turnaround for the club who were in the relegation zone at the end of August. Former England international Palmer praised head coach Martin for the way he has improved Swansea defensively, and while he thinks they can challenge for a play-off place this term, he believes their squad isn't deep enough to launch an assault on the automatic promotion spots.
"I’m not sure they’ve got the strength in depth to be genuine automatic promotion contenders," he said to Football League World.
“You know, you’ve got some very, very strong clubs in that division and very big purses to contend with that will go again in the January transfer market.
“Swansea don’t have that luxury, but they are genuine play-off contenders. They’re a very difficult side to beat. He’s made them very hard to beat. I mean, he has done a fantastic job.”
Martin's men are currently four points better off than they were at the same stage in the Championship last season while their goal difference is two goals better.
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