Swansea City Fan View: Brighton loss proves a good reality check

No Swansea City supporter is under the illusion that the club is safe for another season in the Premier League.

And, in case they were, being hammered 4-1 by Brighton on the weekend was a good reality check.

Things have been all round rosy at Swansea since Carlos Carvalhal arrived in December. Going ten games undefeated, seeing dramatically improved performances, and plenty of goals, Swans fans have had very little to complain about.

Which is great, because that’s pretty much all we did for the first half of the season. But the heavy defeat against Brighton was a wake up call.

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The loss saw Swansea slide right back into the relegation zone. As I highlighted in a recent post, the Brighton game was one of those targeted six pointers – keeping a fellow relegation candidate in the drop zone while picking up vital points.

Of course, we can’t help losing a game or two, but a defeat to Brighton just seems much worse than a defeat to, say, Arsenal or Chelsea. It’s an opportunity lost and a dent in confidence.

On the bright side, that loss has probably come at a good time.

I don’t think Carvalhal or the players were taking things too casually, but if there was an air of complacency with anyone – management, players or fans – it’s now been squished.

Good – because we are in the middle of a very important period for the club. Over the next few weeks we have three further ‘six pointers’. These come against West Ham at home, Huddersfield away, and then Southampton at the Liberty Stadium.

Nine fairly straightforward points, and plenty of opportunity to get out and stay out of the relegation zone.

The Brighton loss will have highlighted the team’s weak points to Carvalhal – who, in fairness, has barely put a foot wrong. He has already admitted his setup and subs were a gamble that didn’t pay off.

Great, he’s learned a lesson. Now let’s see the results of that when we take on West Ham next weekend.