However, following a terrible start to 2025, Swansea City supporters have every right to feel a little happy about their team at the moment given the way they crushed Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Luke Williams was eventually eliminated by eight losses in ten games across all competitions, and even the most upbeat Swans supporter—of which there are probably still some—could not have foreseen such a strong reaction under temporary manager Alan Sheehan.
After the game, the Irishman acknowledged that he had spent many late nights getting ready for the Rovers battle, but in the end, Swansea’s victory came down to a few easy adjustments.
While it’s believed that Lewis O’Brien and Goncalo Franco’s contributions in the midfield were identified in the week as potentially crucial in defeating Rovers, who, let’s not forget, are still very much in the play-off conversation right now, a change from the awkward three at the back certainly seemed to help.
Although Swansea’s midfield appeared much more confident, the front line may have seen the biggest improvement.
For instance, Liam Cullen seems much more at ease playing the number 10 position, which has greatly contributed to his success as the team’s top scorer this season.
Perhaps the most important development, however, was Zan Vipotnik’s performance.
The Slovenian’s goal completed what was maybe his best performance in a Swans shirt to date, even though his finish wasn’t the cleanest.
He was also involved in his side’s second of the afternoon. His tussle with Dion Sanderson, while provoking the ire of the visitors, instrumental to Myles Peart-Harris’ goal just before half-time.
Overall, he produced his best numbers of the season for touches (27) and passes (18), while his tally of three aerial duels won had only been replicated once before this weekend, and his shot count of three has only been bettered on two occasions this season.
In short, his involvement was far beyond many of his previous performances, and it appeared heavily influential to Swansea’s newfound attacking vigour on the day.
“Without going into too much detail, one of the messages was that we’ve got nines up there and sometimes in games they can become quite isolated,” Sheehan said when asked about Vipotnik’s contributions.
“We just didn’t want to leave him isolated because he’s a wonderful finisher.
He’s still in that transitioning stage coming from Bordeaux to here. It takes time with certain people.
“But I’m really happy.”
Sheehan’s predecessor was also a big fan of the 22-year-old’s finishing ability, but supporters simply haven’t seen enough of it this season.
In fact, it’s actually felt a bit of a struggle for him at times, and Vipotnik himself will likely admit he’s yet to justify the level of excitement that greeted his summer arrival.
Getting the best out of him and, more importantly, getting him scoring on a regular basis, would be a potentially massive watershed moment in what’s otherwise been a disappointing season, and would surely fire Swansea back up the league in the process.
In terms of the manager search, it would also allow more breathing room for the club to ponder the next move.
As things stand, it appears they are still exploring the possibility of an external hire to take the club forward long term, although there’s already a feeling that appointing the right candidate might not be possible until the summer.
