Kit PetersSWANSEA CITY: Play-offs should be the target for Vitor Matos next season, says Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman
Swansea City’s top-half Championship finish was a more than acceptable outcome for Vitor Matos’s first full season in charge — but the play-offs should be the target next time around, according to Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman.
Goodman, speaking to Parimatch Casino, said Matos had done a commendable job in guiding the Swans to 11th place, particularly given the circumstances in which he took over.
“When Vitor Matos took over, survival was the primary goal,” Goodman said. “He guided them to an 11th-place finish. A top-half finish is very acceptable, especially considering he took over a side that was fifth from bottom and had only won four of their first 16 games. He has clearly improved them.”
Matos was confirmed as Swansea’s head coach having initially come in to steady a struggling side, and the Portuguese coach gradually put his stamp on the team with an ambitious approach to recruitment and an attacking style of play.
The transformation under Matos has taken place against a backdrop of significant change at the club. Rapper Snoop Dogg joined as a minority investor with an ambitious ten-year vision for the club, followed by American lifestyle entrepreneur and billionaire Martha Stewart, who became a co-owner after attending a match at the Swansea.com Stadium.
Off the pitch, the club is also pressing ahead with ambitious plans for a major new fan zone for more than 1,700 supporters at the Swansea.com Stadium, featuring self-pour beer taps, a big screen and a bierkeller-style atmosphere — part of the ownership group’s broader vision for the club.
However, Goodman identified clear areas for improvement heading into next season, pointing to the Swans’ record against the division’s top sides as evidence of the gap that still needs to be bridged.
“In 12 matches against the top six, they did not win a single game,” he said. “They lost eight and drew four. They also failed to win an away game against any team that finished in the top 14. Those are the obvious areas for improvement.”
The pundit said he was encouraged by the club’s ambition in the transfer market last summer and expected a similar approach this window.
“Given the ambitious recruitment we saw last season, I expect them to show similar intent this summer,” he said. “I like Vitor Matos and the style he has imparted on the team.”
With the EFL play-offs now extended to eight teams, Goodman said there was every reason for Swansea to set their sights on a top-eight finish as a minimum ambition.
“With the play-offs extending down to eighth place, I imagine that will be their target next season,” he said. “This is exactly why the play-offs have been extended to eight teams. With five games of this season to go, most teams in the league, with the exception of perhaps four or five, would have had a chance. The excitement would have been off the charts. Swansea are a team that fell into that bracket.”
Don Goodman’s quotes courtesy of Parimatch Casino.
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