Authority and autonomy for Paul Watson at Swansea City
Saturday, 1st Jul 2023 07:32 by Swansea Independent

New Sporting Director Paul Watson has explained his aims for the immediate future, and especially when it comes to decision making at Swansea City.

In a frank discussion last night on BBC radio Watson explained the current situation on finances. “We all want to spend money, but that has to be done in the correct way, in line with the club and its finances. There's not a bottomless pit, we've got to be shrewd in the market and use our academy. But also, when we've got the opportunity to spend money and invest in a player who wants to progress, we've got to be able to do that as well“

On his relationship with the majority owners, something which crashed and burned last season for Russell Martin, Watson was open on their current relationship. “ I’ve certainly got their backing, I’ve been given a lot of authority and autonomy yes, if it stays like that, yes. There is not a bottomless pit, we need to be shrewd in the market. Fans want to see young and exciting players coming in. What I will say January is a real tough window to work in. We are in the middle of a transfer window now.As soon as this one closes we work on the next one. Certainly this window we will be bringing players in, yes”

“There will be winners and losers with any new manager. There are key positions to recruit in and we are working on that now. Yes there’s money to invest, how much is where we see the players during this transition. The ambition is to progress. Everyone has got that new season excitement and vibe. We want to keep the players in the building but, ultimately, if an offer comes that we feel is right and means we can re-invest and ultimately get better - then we'll look at it. But we're not under any pressure to sell or go out hunting for offers. We're happy with the squad and we want to add to it."

In line with our feature yesterday on new contracts Watson clarified that situation.“There are numerous players whose contracts will expire in 2024 and 2025. There’s a piece we are working on, and that’s internal. Looking at their age, profile and what they are contributing, ultimately we have to protect assets in the building. We are always going to evolve no matter who the manager was. We need a bit more robustness at the top end of the pitch. We to add different components over the challenges of the season, we do need different tools in the box”

On his time in Spain this week it’s clear Michael Duff and Paul Watson have been in talks on what both want to profess moving forwards. And those conversations obviously included Josh Marsh. That’s all good news for now, Josh Ginnelly is todays priority for Paul Watson with an agreement already in place between the player and the Swans to sign over this weekend.

With authority and autonomy we move forwards. The Swans have an able and capable man at the sporting helm, let’s hope the relationship all round continues in a positive way.