It was very much a bank holiday weekend to forget for the Swans with two underwhelming performances against Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers mustering just a solitary point.
After such a positive and vibrant performance in the 2-0 victory over Cardiff City at the Swansea.com Stadium just under three weeks ago, Williams’ side have struggled to match the same levels of that against their rivals.
Both at Hillsborough and back in SA1 the Swans would lack a clinical edge to their play in the final third as both the relegation-threatened duo would earn valuable points towards the cause of survival.
For the Swans, it is a case, more than likely that one win will be enough for that factor to come into play, however, they will want to achieve that status sooner rather than later to build for next term.
This weekend provides another opportunity for his side to continue their progression against Michael Carrick’s up-and-down Middlesbrough. The Reds come into the game unbeaten in their last six matches in ninth place after a rocky start saw Boro in the lower standings of the Championship.
Whilst providing a tough test and threatening a late charge towards the play-off positions, the Swans travel to the north-east with confidence having lost just one in their last five on the road.
Victories at Hull and Sunderland have shown Williams’ young side can reach the levels demanded by the Londoner. The former Notts County boss, however, feels that to finish the season positively, his side will need to produce the required levels of intensity more regularly.
“For the people that are criticising saying what we saw against Cardiff, we are not seeing again. I want them to know that I agree with them they are correct,” said Williams in his pre-match press conference.
“This is the problem when you raise the bar up like that as a group of players. They deserved to win the game in the way that they won it.
“It was a performance that was brewing because we had played brilliantly in a lot of the games.
“Unfortunately, when you raise the bar a litter bit more, you have to stay there.
“When people criticised saying that they didn’t see the same levels against Sheffield Wednesday and QPR they are right. We need that level every week otherwise we can’t perform.
“I’m not saying we didn’t play at all well because that is not fair on the players one bit because much of it is good.
“We just have to believe in what we are doing because if we stay on script, it will work.
“They [Middlesbrough] are a top side and have a really good manager. Michael [Carrick] is one of those managers that will soon be applying his trade in the Premier League, so I know what I’m up against.
“I do though have a lot of confidence in my team, we’ve been to good teams like Sunderland and Hull and got a result and these are a top team too.
“The most important thing is that we go there and try and impose ourselves on them because they will try and do the same to us.”
The Swans will travel to Teesside with predominately the same squad that faced QPR on Monday but will be without midfielder Joe Allen after picking up a toe injury in the first half-hour against the Hoops.
“He [Joe Allen] is going to be sidelined for the time being,” continued Williams.
“Unfortunately, it is not something that can settle down quickly, but we don’t have a full update [on the extent of the injury] as of yet.
“It is still early [to tell]. We just know from the way he is moving at the moment that he is not going to be able to be involved in the next game.
“There is still some settling down before we can further assess.
“It may be [the end of Kyle Naughton’s season]. It depends on how the body reacts so we will have to see.”
There was good news however, surrounding Polish winger Przemysław Płacheta whose hamstring problem isn’t as serious as first thought, whilst on-loan Chelsea defender Bashir Humphries is back on the road to recovery after being sidelined for the last few matches.
26-year-old former Norwich speedster Placheta, is likely to be targeting a return for the trip to Huddersfield Town towards the end of the month, before a match-up with his former club at Carrow Road on April 27.
“We are around two weeks away from being able to see him [Placheta] again. Hopefully, the progress is smooth, and we get him in good time,” explained Williams.
“I want us to win as many games as we can to the end of the season. I think we can do better than the Sheffield Wednesday and QPR games.
“From what I can see is the overall performance is of a certain level and if we have a bit more, we can get results.”
[Lead image: Swansea City FC]
