Players deserve credit for upturn, not me - Matos

[Huw Evans Picture Agency]

Vitor Matos says his players deserve the credit for the turnaround in fortunes which has put them in contention for a top-10 Championship finish.

Swansea were staring at a relegation scrap after defeat in Matos' first two games in charge last November left them outside the bottom three only on goal difference.

But the Swans have since won 13 of 26 league fixtures to ensure they head into the final week of the season with a chance to improve on last year's 11th-place finish.

Swansea have taken an average of 1.53 points per game under Matos – compared to 1.06 this season before he arrived – while the goals scored per game average has gone from 0.9 to 1.42.

Their average goals conceded has dropped marginally, while they have nine clean sheets from Matos' 28 league games compared to three in the first 16 second-tier outings this season.

Most significantly, perhaps, Swansea's win ratio has gone from 25% in those first 16 games to 46% in the next 28.

When asked about the turnaround in form, Matos said: "I always said the squad has a lot of potential. There's a lot of things that are still a lot to unlock if we want, but for that you need time, you need training, you need consistency.

"It's not always possible to have everything built straight away and I think that's what we wanted - step by step, sorting the problems in the short term but also preparing for the future.

"The players bought into the ideas brilliantly. I think their character and their mentality is probably the main reason, not me."

[Huw Evans Picture Agency]

Swansea face a difficult trip to in-form Norwich City on Saturday (15:00 BST) as they look to end what has been a challenging season on the road with three successive away wins.