Luke Williams and Ryan Harley look set to join the Swans as the new coaching team this week - and Alan Sheehan will step down after carrying out his duties as interim head coach. The only thing which could delay progress now is if the Swans decide to move the goal posts or change any agreements to date.

The compensation payments for Luke, now forty two and Ryan, thirty eight, should not cause the club any undue concerns, and although we know they have a good relationship with their staff at Notts County, as it stands there is no indication of more coming. Having said that Luke has some trusted staff at Meadow Lane, so maybe there will be some flexibility there. Alan Sheehan will resume his role as first team coach as expected and reported here yesterday.

Speaking about the Swans Luke has always been impressed with the club and its set up, despite leaving suddenly in February 2022 citing he missed his family. He has reflected upon the Swans on numerous occasions in the recent past, and whilst at Notts County (@Official_NCFC) “Going to Swansea with Russell Martin was a great opportunity to work at what was, for all intents and purposes, a Premier League outfit with outstanding facilities, high expectations and players with many top-flight appearances under their belt. It truly was an honour” On Russell Martin, Luke has still a close bond with his colleague from MK Dons and then the Swans.”He has an amazing capacity for keeping a number of things spinning around in his mind, and is brilliant at making staff and players feel valued”

We have been told that Williams is in a very similar mould and you would expect him to be after instigating the ‘Russell Martin’ style of play at Swansea. Luke has done this at Notts County. The club do score a lot of goals, fifty five this season is a League Two high, unfortunately the Magpies have also conceded the most goals in the top sixteen of the league. It may sound like a general warning from Luke Williams but he has mentioned on several occasions that support from within the club he is employed at is paramount. In fact the most important thing for him. “Often the bar is set slightly higher than what’s comfortable for everyone, but what you want is to know the club are trying to help you achieve the goal they have set for you. That’s the big bit. I’ve been in situations when the target has been set very high, but the level of support has been very low. That’s an awful combination that leaves you feeling like there’s nowhere left to turn”

The promises the Swans have made to Luke Williams have to be met.

Both Luke Williams and Ryan Harley are renowned for their no nonsense approach when things go wrong. Last month, and very much echoing Russell Martin, Williams said after a defeat. "I'm really hurt because I can accept when the game is really difficult, but not in a manner that we're facing so many big movements, so many big actions attacking. We need to improve, or it's going to be very difficult to represent this club playing with sloppiness and mistakes and without courage" The mistakes he refers to come from the possession based principle that Williams has introduced at Notts County. Supporters of the club have often mentioned that building from the back can be seen as extremely risky at times, but Williams has persevered with his preferred style of play. That does go some way to explaining the goals conceded, so it looks like another head coach is about to be installed with an attitude and plan that Swansea City fans ( in the main ) enjoy to watch.

It’s isn’t all about Russell Martin though, Luke worked under Gus Poyet at Brighton and draws a lot of experience from his time with the Uruguayan. “I worked with Gus Poyet, who is now a friend of mine, at Brighton when I was leading the Under 21 group. It was a very close-knit club and I shared an office with Gus, Mauricio Tarrico and Charlie Oatway which, for me, was life-changing. I don’t need to speak about Gus and his achievements as a player, coach or manager – he’s an incredible person. Mauricio had a top player’s mentality – his standards on everything were so high and he couldn’t tolerate things that didn’t match his levels - and Charlie was someone I’d known for a long time as he had been a brilliant captain for the club. To be involved in that set-up was mind-blowing – they won promotion from League One with four games to spare, so it was an incredible experience”

We will leave Luke Williams to introduce us to Ryan Harley. He was at Swansea City during the Premier League years, but looking at who he had ahead of him it was always going to be difficult. He went on to have a decent lower league career making three hundred and forty five appearances. However, he is alongside Luke for a number of reasons, “Ryan is very knowledgeable about players and other teams. He’s a fantastic footballer who relished playing in attacking, possession-based teams and would have been outstanding in the environment we have here ( Notts County ) . He’s someone who’s played in teams I’ve coached, and he’s also coached with me. Ryan’s got a very strong personality, which is perfect for this environment, and he will be able to do specific work on the training pitch extremely well. He also has really useful input in team selection, recruitment and our tactical approach”

We will of course carry the latest news on what looks like a new managerial appointment on the horizon. However, it’s looking like the plan is for him to be in the home stands (at least) come Saturday and the FA Cup tie v Morecambe. ( KO 5.30pm )

Thanks to @Official_NCFC

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