Sousa praises tough Owls

Swansea boss concedes that players need rest

Last updated: 13th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Sousa praises tough Owls

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Paulo Sousa admitted that his Swansea side ran out of steam in their struggle to break down Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

The Swans lost ground in the race for the automatic promotion spots as they were held to a goalless draw at the Liberty Stadium.

Despite the Owls lowly position in the league, Sousa said that he always knew it would be a tough encounter.

"It was a difficult game as I predicted it would be," the Swans boss said.

"They were well organised but we seemed a little tired and although we created a few good chances we never had any luck.

Desire

"The players have plenty of desire and I made the changes at half-time to switch things around and be more aggressive.

"In this type of game we were unable to play the way we would like to but the players are tired both physically and mentally and we haven't had time to prepare for different opponents.

"I have respect for all our opponents and we try to win every game but our fans must be educated to know that they need to help the players and not pass their anxiety on to the field as we need them to believe and support."

Wednesday narrowly climbed out of the relegation zone thanks to the point, which followed a win against Leicester and defeat to West Brom.

Owls boss Alan Irvine is satisfied with the way his side have performed against three of the league's higher-placed teams.

Hard work

He said: "I think we deserved a draw and had to work very hard for it as we knew there would be periods when we didn't have the ball and were prepared for that.

"Midway through the first half we began passing the ball much better and it was only in the closing stages that I felt a little worried.

"Swansea have a fantastic record of winning games 1-0 and I was a little nervous as the game moved to a close.

"We have recently played three of the top sides and not looked out of place but we have to build on these performances to push on and have a lot of hard work to do.

"Four games ago we were hammered at Reading but the players have shown great character in coming back from that defeat."