Roberto Martinez says he is not phased by the Swans recent inability to win matches

The Swansea City manager has seen his side go more than a month since their last victory - away at Norwich City.

Six matches have passed since then with the Swans drawing five of them but Roberto insists that the standard of performance has been good and he would take the same level of play over the second half of the season.

The Swans have reached the halfway point of their return to Championship football in 11th place but very much still in the hunt of the play off places as they begin the second half of the season at Blackpool tomorrow.

Speaking to the Western Mail, Roberto said “It doesn’t bother me, in football we judge things by results, which is fine in the short term

“But, if we want to keep improving as a club, then long term it is about performances.

“And, when I say that, I mean that I could guarantee if we played with the kind of dominance and control that we did against Sheffield United for the next 23 games we will do really, really well because the rewards will come.

“So my focus is only on the level of performance because if we do that the wins and the points will take care of themselves.

“It is actually five games undefeated at a time when we have not had stability because of suspensions and injuries, so I can be happy.

“Obviously, I am not delighted because the performances have suggested we should have won more – but I am not bothered at all.

“We are only five points from the play-off places so we are not in a situation where we should be so concerned about points at this stage of the season,” he said.

“And, if we repeat the kind of performances we’ve given in this run, we’ll have more points at the end of the season than anyone could hope for.

“If Saturday was a cup final then it’s completely the opposite, I would admit it doesn’t matter about performances it just matters about winning the football match.

“But in the league, and in the long term, success will be about to be able to keep performing as we have done.

“It is still a disappointment because we want to do both – we want to play well and win.

“But it is only when we don’t get a result and the performance isn’t up to those standards that I won’t be happy.

“You only worry when the level of performance doesn’t carry on.

“And problems only come where you are not playing well and you can’t see how to improve – but we are playing well and I see potential in every single area.

“And that gives me huge excitement about the second half of the season.

“We are more ready for these challenges than we were in August and we have 23 games in front of us to show that.

“We haven’t peaked as a team and that excites me."

He was again full of praise for his next opponents in Blackpool and he said “They deserve full credit and to stay in the Championship speaks volumes for the great job Simon Grayson is doing there, they have some strong players who are well-organised and play with huge intensity in the final third so we know they will make us defend.

“It will certainly be a different games to the ones we have had recently and we will have to make sure we adapt and be ready for the challenge.

“But we won’t change anything – we just have to make sure we can master our strengths.”

Photo: Action Images

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