Swansea City

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Vitor Matos says Adam Idah "needs love" if he is to thrive at Swansea City and hopes the striker's late goal against Wrexham will prove to be a key moment in his spell at the Championship club.

Idah was in the right place to tap in a 90th-minute winner as Swansea claimed dramatic victory in their first league meeting with Wrexham in 22 years.

The goal came courtesy of an inexplicable double error from Wrexham keeper Arthur Okonkwo, whose fumble allowed Idah to prod home from a yard out.

It was just the third goal in 20 Swansea appearances – seven of which have been starts - for Idah following his £6m move from Celtic.

The 24-year-old celebrated by fist pumping in front of the home fans long after the final whistle, and Matos believes the goal could be pivotal.

"He's a really good kid who needs love and who needs to feel the backing of everyone," the Swansea head coach said.

"He knows that he has that inside of the club. He needs to create this connection with the fans.

"I think [the Wrexham game] was important and we're really happy to see what he brings in the future."

Swansea came from behind to beat the Red Dragons after an early own goal from Cameron Burgess.

Zan Vipotnik's deflected shot brought the Swans level 20 minutes from time before Idah took advantage of Okonkwo's howler.

"The team was high up the pitch. Sometimes that kind of situation happens," Matos added.

"It's more important that you are in the right position to take the reward and Adam did that.

"It was an important goal for Adam as well I think, to give him confidence coming off the bench and making an impact, so [I am] really happy for him and really happy for us."

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Head coach Vitor Matos is relishing Swansea City's "special" run of three successive home wins in the Championship.

Friday night's 2-1 victory over Wrexham was Matos' third from six games since taking charge in November, all of which have come at the Swansea.com Stadium.

The Swans climbed up to 17th in the Championship table by beating Wrexham, moving seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Swansea are on the road for their next two league fixtures, at leaders Coventry City on 26 December before a trip to struggling Oxford United three days later.

"Of course in the Championship, you need to get points in every place, that's the most important thing," said Matos.

"But when we started creating this feeling, this connection with the fans that everyone starts feeling, it represents the city and the people.

"Three points are three points. I think it's special when you can do it at home with the fans. I think it's important that you do it the way you want to play.

"At the moment every point helps, so that's the important thing."

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Vitor Matos says Swansea City have transfer "profiles" in mind with the January transfer window less than a fortnight away.

Head coach Matos has reiterated that his primary focus is on a packed festive fixture list, with Friday's meeting with Wrexham starting a run of five Championship games in 16 days.

But as he approaches a month in charge at Swansea, Matos has acknowledged for the first time that the club are eyeing potential business next month.

"I think as a club like Swansea, we always need to look in the market at how we can make our squad stronger," Matos said.

"There are profiles. But it's important that when we decide to go for someone, it's someone that adds value to the squad.

"That needs to be the focus, not signing just because of numbers. It needs to be someone we believe we will add quality and that's what everyone is focused on."

Swansea overhauled their squad in the summer, bringing in 13 new faces – including four loan signings – as a number of players departed.

The summer window was widely regarded as Swansea's most successful in a number of years but, after a solid start to the season, a slump in form has left the club glancing nervously towards the relegation places.

Swansea's poor run has forced the club to consider their transfer options once more, with Matos acknowledging there "a lot of people working on that".

But he added: "At the moment that's not the priority. We need to be focused on the games we have to come."

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Head coach Vitor Matos has backed out-of-favour defender Josh Key to return to the form he showed earlier in his Swansea City career.

Key, 26, has not started the last two Championship fixtures against Portsmouth and Stoke City having missed the early December win over Oxford United due to illness.

His absence has meant Ethan Galbraith moving from midfield to right-back.

"He was a starting eleven player and he has that inside of him, still, unfortunately he got ill before the game [against Oxford] and we needed to adjust with [Galbraith] there," Matos said.

"That was the decision, it gave the team a different kind of shape and a different kind of dynamic on the right that was really good.

"He knows more than anyone what he needs to improve and what he needs to come back but he's a wonderful kid, a really good professional and I think he will come to the performance that we are all used to seeing from him."

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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Mark Robins' claim that Stoke City were the "better team from start to finish" in Saturday's victory over Swansea City was a debatable one.

Swansea, after all, managed 14 shots to Stoke's eight, while the visitors' xG of 1.14 was almost double that of the home side.

The Swans had more possession (59.5 %), too, as they pushed Robins' promotion-chasing team right up until the final whistle.

So there were some encouraging signs for Vitor Matos.

Swansea played with more attacking intent than they have on many occasions this season, and appeared to have a little more belief on the back of successive home wins over Oxford and Portsmouth.

But even if there were some positives for Swansea in Potteries, the fact is that they came away from the game with nothing for the sixth time in the past eight Championship games.

As a result, Swansea find themselves only four points above the relegation places in 19th, with the two sides immediately below, Blackburn and Portsmouth, each having a game in hand.

Relegation concerns remain heading into the festive period, with the pressure on once more as Swansea prepare to host a Wrexham side who are in much better form next Friday night.

After that comes a trip to Coventry City, before another meeting with Oxford, a New Year's Day home game with West Brom and a trip to a Millwall side who currently sit fourth three days later.

There will be 15 points on offer in the space of a little over two weeks.

As demanding as some of their fixtures are, Swansea need to bank a fair few of them if they are to lighten the new year mood.

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Vitor Matos said Swansea City must learn to "grab" games from the outset if they are to climb the Championship table following their 2-1 defeat at Stoke City.

Swansea competed with the Potters for long spells but were left to rue a sixth loss in their past eight games thanks to goals from Ben Pearson and Sorba Thomas.

After Pearson netted in spectacular fashion just before half-time, Thomas doubled the home side's lead on the hour.

Swansea made Stoke work for victory after Zan Viptonik pulled a goal back 11 minutes from time, but there were no clear-cut chances late on despite the Welsh club's battling effort.

"Like I said in the beginning, there are going to be ups and downs, especially in terms of results," said Swansea head coach Matos.

"What we get today is performance. Of course it's frustrating because of the result.

"What we need to take from the game is that we need to start becoming this team that from the beginning wants to grab the game for us.

"We need to become this team that wants to compete against everyone."

A third defeat in five matches under Matos leaves Swansea hovering above the Championship relegation zone.

While Matos was pleased with the character his side showed at the Bet365 Stadium, he accepts better is required as attention turns to next Friday's home game with Wrexham.

"We have one week to train and then we play Wrexham. That's what we need to focus on now," he added.

"We need to keep pushing and keep improving. Training helps a lot, I think it's the most important thing."

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Vitor Matos insists he is more interested in training than transfers as he continues to settle in at Swansea City.

Matos leads Swansea for the fifth time at Stoke City on Saturday (12:30 GMT) having been in charge of the Welsh club for less than three weeks.

The hectic Championship schedule means Matos has had only limited opportunities to work with his squad on the training ground.

And though the mid-season window is only 20 days away, Swansea's head coach says potential transfers are not his top priority at present.

"I honestly believe that more important [than the] transfer window will be how we train 100% when we are able to, to improve what we have and to make a team from what we have," Matos said.

"That's the most important thing and that will be massive."

After Stoke, Swansea have six days before they host Wrexham on Friday, 19 December.

They then have a further week between matches, with a trip to Coventry City on 26 December starting a run of four league fixtures in just nine days.

Matos, who is set to be joined by his backroom team from former club Maritimo next week, says the fortnight ahead will offer opportunities to focus on training.

"There will be a lot of games, but after the Stoke game we will have a little bit more time," he added.

"[Then it is the] Wrexham game, then we will have a little bit more time.

"So these two weeks will be important for us in terms of development, because we will have a game per week and then we go into the really busy schedule and that will be decisive for everything I would say."

Stoke City will look to get their promotion bid back on track when they welcome Swansea City on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

The Potters have lost five of their past six games (W1) to slip to eighth but are still just one point off the play-off places.

The Swans have picked up two consecutive wins for the first time this season, beating relegation rivals Oxford and Portsmouth, to move six points clear of the drop zone.

• Stoke have lost just one of their past 14 home league games against Swansea (W9 D3), losing 2-1 in March 2021.

• Swansea City have won one of their previous eight league games against Stoke City (D3 L4), a 3-0 win in April 2024.

• Stoke have lost two of their past three home league matches (W1), as many as in their previous 12 combined. The Potters are looking to avoid losing consecutive home games for the first time since September 2024.

• Swansea have lost their past three away league games, with each defeat coming under a different manager (Alan Sheehan, Darren O'Dea and Vitor Matos). They most recently lost more consecutively on the road in December/January last season (four).

• Stoke manager Mark Robins has won just one of his 14 Championship games against Swansea (D7 L6) but that did come for the Potters at home in February in a 3-1 win.

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Vitor Matos reckons Swansea City must topple one of the Championship's "best football teams" if they are to continue their upturn in form at Stoke City on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Swansea have partially eased concerns that they could face a long battle against relegation this season after back-to-back home victories over fellow strugglers Oxford and Portsmouth.

But Matos' team face a sterner challenge as they take on a Stoke side eyeing a return to the Premier League.

"Stoke is a brilliant team, for me one of the best teams of the league in terms of the way they play," Swansea head coach Matos said.

"They defend really well - they want to press, they have a clear idea how to do it. They attack really well, [with] different ways of attacking, sometimes with three, with [Aaron] Cresswell deep, sometimes using [Eric] Bocat in a different way, so they have a lot of variability.

"It's a team that can create different kind of problems with different players as well, and so we'll need to be on our maximum concentration and perform to compete.

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"That's what we're going to try and it will not be for sure an easy place to go but we are really looking forward because it will be a brilliant game for us as well."

For all Matos' admiration of Stoke, Mark Robins' team will be looking to end their own slump in form when they face Swansea.

Having spent much of the season in and around the Championship's automatic promotion places, the Potters slipped to eighth having suffered a fifth defeat in their past six matches at Ipswich Town on Wednesday.

But Matos insists former Coventry City boss Robins has the experience to turn Stoke's form around.

"[He is] a manager that is really experienced here and in this league, so for sure he knows how to get them out of the situation," he added.

"When you have these moments, every game that comes is an opportunity to get out of it, so I think that's how they will see it.

"It's up to us to have a proper football game to compete and to show as well that we are here for a reason."

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Swansea City head coach Vitor Matos praised the "massive impact" of his substitutes following the 1-0 win over fellow Championship strugglers Portsmouth.

Tuesday's victory gave the Swans back-to-back wins for the first time since April and, more importantly, opened up a six-point gap between themselves and the bottom three.

Matos used his bench to excellent effect in the second half, as Zeidane Inoussa and Malick Yalcouye combined for their fellow substitute Liam Cullen to score the decisive goal with a sweet first-time left-footed strike.

"I think how we are starting to create this togetherness and this understanding that everyone will have a role and has a role on the team, I think that's massive for the future," said Matos.

"The impact of the bench was massive. We will need that for the future, 100%, especially for the upcoming games as well. And yeah, really happy for everyone, really happy for what we did as well."

Having lost his first two games as Swansea boss, former Liverpool assistant coach Matos now has two wins from the opening four matches of his tenure.

Both victories have come with clean sheets – following Saturday's 2-0 triumph over Oxford United – and Matos believes that defensive solidity is more important than the fact his side have won successive games for the first time this season.

"I think more than that is this one, the clean sheet, that we kept another clean sheet, especially at home," the Portuguese said.

"This kind of mentality, that understanding that we start building the things from the defensive way, I think that was massive.

"Of course, winning helps, but we know that we need to keep doing steps. We know that we need to keep improving and that there's a lot of things to come still."