Here's your round-up of all the latest Swansea City headlines for February 25.
Grimes: Players must step up
Swansea skipper Matt Grimes says the players must take responsibility for their current poor run of results.
Recent defeats at Stoke City and Sheffield United, by the captain's own admission, haven't been good enough, and the midfielder says that the amount of help they are given on the training pitch means that must be translated to results on the pitch.
That all starts with West Brom at The Hawthorns on Monday.
“It is up to us as players. We know exactly what is expected of us,” said the midfielder.
“We know what is wanted from us, we get the information and the detail we need.
“So, it is down to us to deliver, we have to be accountable for how we perform and the Stoke and Sheffield United games were nowhere near it and that is no-one’s fault to ours.
“I feel like the transition we have been going through is positive, there have been tough times but overall it has been good.
“We know what we want to do and how, but when we drop off our intensity then it undermines the details you need to get right.
“That’s nothing to do with the manager, that’s down to us as players because we love his ideas and how he wants to play. We don’t want that to change, we have to get better at implementing it consistently.”
Martin grateful for week off following harrowing Blades defeat
Russell Martin says he hopes the benefit of a week off will help Swansea put last weekend's harrowing defeat to Sheffield United behind them.
The Swans were due to take on Bournemouth in midweek, before the game was called off due to the Swansea.com Stadium being damaged by Storm Eunice.
And given the hectic recent schedule of games, the postponement has perhaps given the Swans some much-needed time on the training ground this week.
"I think you can look at it in two ways," he said. "The Bournemouth game would have been a good chance to bounce straight back, but this time has been really important for us. I keep saying it, but we’ve not had much training time at all recently.
"We have a very young squad and with young people, you have to reinforce things. We moved on to something else and maybe pay less attention to something we thought we’d nailed down on it turns out we’ve not nailed it.
"It’s been relentless with the games, even for the guys that came in January. So this week has been nice. It’s been a bit of a blessing in terms of the physical work we can put in, the tactical work we’ve done.
"Trying to balance the two. We’ve a full squad pretty much to train with, so I’ve really enjoyed it. The players have to challenge each other.
"We have to challenge them and they have to challenge us. We have to learn and grow together. It was really disappointing at Sheffield United.
"The players understand why it happened and what we need to do better and this week will stand us in good stead for trying to put in a much better performance on Monday."
Michael Obafemi eager to repay the faith
Michael Obafemi says he's keen to repay the faith shown him by Russell Martin by continuing his promising recent run of form.
The striker freely admits that it has taken a little time for him to settle in south Wales following his move from Southampton in the summer, particularly given the methods implemented by Martin and his staff.
However, with two goals in his last two home games, it seems the 21-year-old is now starting to find his feet in SA1.
“It was difficult in the beginning, being so far away from my natural surroundings,” he said.
“Southampton felt like home. I’d moved away from London when I was 15 or 16 and lived in digs there, so that was like my safety net. To move away was difficult, but I knew it was the right decision for me.
“I think now I’ve come to terms with where I am and I’m really enjoying it. There’s a lot to Swansea that I haven’t seen still, but I will eventually get looking.
“The backroom staff and the gaffer, they’ve put a lot of work and effort into me and it’s time that I repay them with the stuff I do on the pitch.
“The gaffer’s shown a lot of faith in me and I’m thankful. I’m trying to repay him with goals and help out the team as much as possible.
“I want to score as many goals as I can and help the team out with assists. I want to help the team to finish as high as possible. We have 15 games left and we want to win as many as possible.
“I want to do myself proud, the fans proud and my family proud.”
Bruce - Swans test massive
West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Bruce says Monday night's clash with Swansea is now 'hugely important' for his side as they bid to turn round their recent poor run of form.
The Baggies are yet to record a victory under the former Newcastle United boss, and head into Monday night's clash without a win in their last six league games.
“We have to address the run we’re having and the only way to do that is by winning on Monday night," Bruce said.
"The game has become hugely important to us, I can’t stress that enough.
“We have to get up and running quickly and it has to happen on Monday night. I can’t stress enough how big a game it has turned into.
“It may not be the most mouth-watering game, but, certainly for where we are at this particular moment, it’s crucial we get three points on the board and get the bandwagon started if we’re going to mount a challenge.
“They will be a possession-based team. We have to make sure we understand what we’re doing in terms of trying to get the ball back.
“Swansea like to try and frustrate teams by keeping the ball and we must be aware of that.”
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