Vitor Matos says it will be Christmas before the Championship table starts to show where teams really belong.
The Swans lost 3-1 at Portsmouth on Tuesday, their third defeat in four league games, and Wednesday’s results pushed them down to fifth.
Yet they are only two points off the top. Leaders Middlesbrough lost 2-0 at Wrexham.
Matos said the table “is really tight”, and added: “I think it will take a little bit of time until it starts to spread more.”
‘When the Championship flips’
He expects a clearer picture by the turn of the year. He said: “I think that’s what will happen until December or until Christmas and then when the Championship flips, it’s always like that.”
He added: “Even the Premier League is like that.”
He sees January as the point where the points and matches start to matter most.
He said: “With so many games and so many teams in a really good level, you can see how many teams are playing well and being really competent on the football they play.”
‘You never see the full picture’
Matos returned to a message he gave after the 5-0 defeat at QPR last month: judge the performance, not just the scoreline.
He said: “If you just look at the result, whether we win or lose, you never see the full picture.”
He added: “You never understand where the team is at the moment. What we need to look is how really was the game.”
He said: “What we need is to try to stay calm, focus on what we can do better and what we need to do to be competitive.”
Injuries and ‘inconsistency’
Matos admitted the run of knocks has forced changes to the starting XI and the bench. He said: “Of course, it creates inconsistency.”
But he is pleased with how his players have responded. He said: “What we always try is to make this in a way that we will again attack, we will again press, we will again try to play in our way.”
He added: “That is what I’m really pleased with the boys because in all scenarios, they all try.”
Tuesday showed what he meant. Captain Ben Cabango was only fit enough for the bench, and Stephen Welsh limped off with a knee problem early in the first half.
‘We cannot lose balance’
Matos still thinks the Swans deserved more at Fratton Park, and said: “Last game, we could have won. In the end, it didn’t come to us.”
He added: “We went to Portsmouth to learn as well. We cannot lose balance.”
Welsh’s scan has since come back clear, and Moussa Yeo is back in contention for Saturday’s trip to Birmingham City (3pm).
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