Vitor Matos says Swansea City’s comeback against Norwich showed the “mindset and togetherness” of his squad.
The Swans came from a goal down to win 2-1 at the Swansea.com Stadium, with second-half goals from Moussa Yeo and Adam Idah keeping them top of the Championship.
Matos said: “Mindset and togetherness I think says a lot about the character of the players we have. I’m really pleased with that.”
‘We improved a lot in the second half’
Matos felt his side started well but lacked precision before the break. “We started well but lacked a little bit of precision in the first half in some situations, but it was something that we could easily improve,” he said.
“I think we improved a lot in the second half in terms of rhythm and in terms of intensity as well. I’m really happy with the boys.”
He would rather not have had to come from behind, though. “I would prefer not to bounce back, of course. I would prefer to win it without that,” he said. “But when you have that situation, yeah, it’s really important that we keep believing that until the end it’s always possible to turn again.”
Three games in eight days after the international break
It was the Swans’ first game after the international break, and Matos admitted the build-up had been disrupted. “It’s really important for us to win more than anything because, yeah, players flying around, joining on the last days as well of before the game,” he said.
His worry was the quality of the football, not momentum. “I was more concerned in terms of the quality of game. As well because we have had an international break with a lot of players playing and then you go straight into three games in eight days.”
“So there’s not a lot of time to train. It’s just, again, trying to reconnect everyone, trying to have a starting point to analyse and improve and that’s what we try with this game.”
Those three games start with a trip to Millwall on Tuesday night, followed by a mouth-watering clash with third-placed West Ham United at the Swansea.com Stadium next Saturday.
Swansea top of the Championship, but ‘the league can change so much’
The win was Swansea’s sixth from nine league games. Matos enjoys being top, but he is not getting carried away. “I think it’s a good feeling, of course, but we know as well that it’s a so long season,” he said.
He pointed to last season: “Last year I was not even here on this moment, and in the end, we got in some moments really close to playoff positions, so the league can change so much and can drift so much.”
“There’s still a transfer window in January which can change completely the league again. So we know that’s a lot to come, but we know as well that our goal is just to focus on the next game.”
Gonçalo Franco goes the full 90 on his first start
Gonçalo Franco made his first start of the season and played the whole game. Matos joked: “I think Franco, after 75 minutes, I don’t know if he was happy that I kept him on or if he was angry with me for not taking him off.”
“I think his performance says a lot. A lot of effort. I think his commitment was really good. 90 minutes straight on this game and somehow finding energy inside of him to help the team.”
An injury meant the midfielder missed a normal pre-season. “Franco is and was a really important player for us,” Matos said. “He came on already in two other games before, but I think today he’s getting back to his normal.”
Matos had warned before kick-off that Norwich were better than their league position.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
SWANS: Yeo and Idah fire Swansea from behind to beat Norwich and go four points clear
The match report.
SWANS: ‘Really aggressive’ Norwich better than their league position, warns Matos
Matos before the game.
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