Queens Park Rangers have six points from six with two wins from their opening games played and the Swans have two points, and are still searching for their first win. Already the fixture at Loftus Road tomorrow night has a feel of must win for both sides, especially for Swansea head coach Michael Duff.
After one of the most disappointing derby performances in recent times the Swans have to find a way of counteracting the discontent the fans are feeling so early on in the season. Duff seems to have painted himself in to a corner over the past forty eight hours or so - and his comments regards players, the previous manager and his personal feelings on his current situation haven’t helped him at all.
A win of course will keep those wolves from the door, and it has to be said a win by any means necessary is a necessity. From there at least Duff has a springboard to bring about more positivity going in to this weekends home fixture against Sheffield Wednesday. Saturdays game in Cardiff was a shocking example of players not being able to deliver the managers desire to play in a certain way. Be that tiredness from exhausting training ideals or just a lack of willpower this will be Duff’s first examination under real pressure in west London.
QPR under the guidance of Gareth Ainsworth haven’t won at home this season with their two wins coming away from home at Cardiff and Middlesbrough. At home last time out they capitulated to Sunderland 3-1 after going ahead early in the game. The red card for Jack Colback after twenty minutes not helping their cause. The Swans discipline has been good this season, but they will need far more than that in what has been a fairly productive last few visits to Loftus Road. The last two games there have resulted in draws, and bar the 5-1 hammering in the FA Cup third round in 2020 two league wins have been the reward for Swansea.
You would expect those Swansea players who most certainly let the club and the fans down on the weekend to be up for righting the wrongs of their efforts so far this season. If they don’t then defeat will most certainly see another hailstorm of venom on social media, let alone from the travelling Swansea faithful.
It has been a very long time since a Swans manager has been under fire so early in the season, in fact it’s probably not in living memory with the usual patience so often seen not evident this season at all. Michael Duff as he has said will stick by his principles and endeavour to get a win by way of what he calls ‘his way’ and you can’t blame him for that at all. The concern for now is what seems to be the dismantling of the good bits of Swansea City’s last two seasons. The identity that led to a passing game that in the end turned up some excellent results. That would be fine if results matched the process but they don’t, in fact a completely unstructured and unworkable strategy seems to be the way forwards - so can you really stick by your principles in the face of that evidence ?
Jamal Lowe ( above ) scored in the corresponding fixture last season, but not for Swansea, he bagged the R’s goal in a 1-1 draw. If a draw is again the result in west London tomorrow evening it will be a start, however the goodwill is running out fast and there needs to be a performance as well.
Queens Park Rangers v Swansea City is a 7.45pm kick off tomorrow night and the game is available on the red button in Sky TV.