This post was originally published on this site.
Swansea on the way to reviving style – Matos
-
Published
Vitor Matos believes his Swansea City side are on the way to reviving the sort of stylish possession game which was key to the club’s golden period in the Premier League.
Swansea are top of the early Championship table having banked 10 points from their first four league games.
The Swans host Wrexham in a mouthwatering Welsh derby on Saturday having produced one of the club’s best performances in recent memory as they overcame Watford in midweek.
Head coach Matos believes his new-look team are moving towards playing the sort of eye-catching football Swansea became known for under the likes of Roberto Martinez, Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup.
“Swansea always had a style. When you closed your eyes and you started thinking about Swansea and what that style is and what the DNA of the club is, you got some images in your mind,” he said.
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
This video can not be played
“My view and my idea was always that we need to get as close to that as possible to again build back that DNA, to use that to try to link everyone properly, to create a connection between everyone at the club.
“We are on the way, we see moments of that.”
Matos suggested when he took charge in November 2025 that Swansea had moved away from the style which brought success following the appointment of Martinez as manager of the then third-tier club in 2007.
By 2011 Swansea had become the first Welsh side to play in the Premier League, and two years later they lifted the League Cup, the one major trophy in the club’s history.
They eventually lost their way in the top flight, with a change in style contributing to a decline which ended in relegation to the Championship in 2018.
Since then, Swansea have tasked various head coaches with returning the club to the top division while reviving the sort of style which became their trademark.
While it is too early in the season to assess promotion prospects, Matos believes his team are heading in the right direction.
“We have something special growing, we have something that everyone feels proud of,” he added.
“Now it’s up to us to take care of that because football is quite unpredictable and we need to understand the whys more than focus on the good things we have done now.”
