These are your Swansea City headlines on Sunday, May 1.
Martin's blunt warning
Russell Martin has warned his players they must show the right mentality to be part of his plans going forward.
Swansea went down 5-1 to Nottingham Forest on Saturday in a dispiriting display, especially in the second half. After drawing level through Michael Obafemi just before the break, Swansea collapsed after the turnaround, with Forest scoring four unanswered goals.
It was the manner of the defeat which disappointed Martin the most, though, with lessons not learned from their capitulation against Reading last month and the frustrating circumstances in which they threw away a 3-0 lead against Bournemouth earlier this week. He's now warned some of his players that they must shape up to be part of his plans next term.
READ MORE: Russell Martin's brutal Swansea City honesty as transfer need becomes clearer
“We didn’t look after each other enough (in the last half an hour, we did not have that willingness to run and the mentality you need to show when you are down in games,” he said. “It will be a brilliant learning curve for a lot of the young guys in the team.
"But there is a way to lose, and that certainly wasn’t it. There are a few players who have to make sure they are part of this. In this team some people have really risen, and there are some people who are in danger of getting left behind.
“That is for us to assess but in the last two games, in the second halves against Bournemouth and Forest, have shown us what we are really going to need if we are going to be successful next season. We have half an hour at Reading where they smash the ball into our box with real height and power, and to negate that we can either sign three monsters and play a different way, or we can do things properly and look after the ball.
“We have to run properly, to work for each other properly and show some real intensity to stop the ball coming into our box. I thought after Reading we would deal with that better, but against Bournemouth we did not show the courage to continue to play and we invited them back onto us by kicking it away. It was the same issues here, if you do not look after the ball properly then you will leave yourself defending set-pieces and on the counter-attack.
“We will look at it all, we have to be ready and make sure these things do not happen next season. We have been on a great run, and it is raw after a defeat, and I believe we will be better next season.”
Chelsea told to keep Ampadu
Former Chelsea player Paul Canoville has urged his former club to use Ethan Ampadu next season when he returns from his loan spell.
Ampadu has spent the season with Italian outfit Venezia, excelling in a team destined for relegation. As things stand he is due to go back to Stamford Bridge in the summer. He has recently been linked with a move to Swansea, along with four other British outfits.
He would fit the bill for Martin on a loan deal, with a centre-back and central midfielder needed this summer; but Canoville believes the versatile Ampadu should be kept by Thomas Tuchel next term. "One of best utility players out there. Absolute must for @ChelseaFC squad next season," he wrote on social media.
With Chelsea facing a turbulent summer off the pitch with a takeover still pending, keeping players like Ampadu could be a wise move. Ampadu, still only 21, has spent time on loan at Sheffield United and RB Leipzig in recent seasons. He is likely to be part of Rob Page's squad for their upcoming World Cup play-off final match with either Scotland or Ukraine in June 5.
Cooper 'gutted' over Surridge exit
Steve Cooper says he was 'gutted' when Sam Surridge left the club during their time together in Swansea.
Cooper signed the striker on loan from Bournemouth during his first season in charge in SA1 he was recalled by the Cherries in January of that campaign. The 23-year-old came back to haunt Swansea at the weekend, scoring a second-half hat-trick in the 5-1 hammering on the banks of the Trent.
Now reunited, Cooper says all Surridge needed was to find a home. “We have given him an opportunity. Sam needed a home. Hopefully he has found one here, because we really believe in him,” he said.
“I worked with him before, ironically at Swansea. I was gutted when he left, but he’s here now and we love working with him. He has had to wait a little bit for starts. He had to wait until others were unfortunate with injury, but he has stepped up, hasn’t he? Hopefully he can keep it going. As soon as we knew there was a chance of getting him in January, the club backed me. Hopefully it’s starting to show now, but we’ve got to keep it going.”
Gerrard on Allen's influence
Steven Gerrard says Mark Allen's experience of elite football at Manchester City helped push through his rebuild at Rangers.
Speaking on Gary Neville's The Overlap on Sky, Gerrard praised the role Allen played in helping Rangers topple Celtic in the SPL. Allen hit the headlines last weekend after it was revealed he had parted company with Swansea as football director. The club the confirmed the news on Friday night.
Gerrard says he'll remain grateful to Allen for helping modernise the infrastructure at Ibrox in order to challenge again. He said: "You go up there (Scotland) and you realise there are a lot of other things that need doing, as well as improving the gap."
Neville interjects, saying "you were building a football club then?" to which Gerrard replied: "I think we all were. It wasn't just down to me, to be fair to the board at the time, and the sporting director Mark Allen, who come from Man City, that helped me, because he had seen elite, and the backing from the owners. It took time, a lot of setbacks, a lot of disappointment, a lot of tough days to get the team and club to where we want to be."
Allen spoke for the first time since his exit on Friday. He said: “Having spent the last 15 months or so aligning the football methodology and operations across the club from academy to first team, and establishing a strong foundation on which to build, I feel it is the appropriate time in the project to pass the baton on.
“I have extremely enjoyed my time at the club and have had the privilege to work alongside some excellent football staff. I wish Russell Martin and the players the best of luck moving forward and nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing Swansea City back in the Premier League for the loyal and magnificent fan base, and I wish the club every success in this pursuit.”
