Gylfi Sigurdsson urges Swansea to rediscover attacking identity

Should Swansea City survive in the Premier League there will be many lessons to learn from what their talisman Gylfi Sigurdsson describes as "a strange season".

The recent years of impressive progress at the Liberty Stadium looked as if they might come to a juddering halt when an autumnal run of one win in 13 league games sent them into relegation danger.

"I don't think anyone saw that coming but it happens in football and it's down to the players to get us out of the position we're in now because, at the end of the day, we can't get relegated," says Sigurdsson. "We want to stay in the Premier League and it's a massive thing for the club to stay up next year with the television money coming in. And for us as players, we don't want to have a relegation on our CV."

The 26-year-old has been a key performer since the turn of the year, his seven goals in the last 11 matches going a long way to alleviating relegation fears. So, has Sigurdsson's form turned things around for Swansea? Or has the team's improved performances brought the best out of the player?

"I think it's both," he says. "Personally 2016 has been a very good year. I've been scoring a lot of goals but I think it comes down to the team playing better football as well. We're picking up more points. We're playing a little bit better than we were. In October and November we were playing really badly but now we're doing better and creating a lot of chances. It's just down to the players up front to put them away now."

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We hear it said in the modern game that certain teams have an identity. It was used as a stick to beat Sam Allardyce during his time at West Ham, when supporters were less than happy with performances; that wasn't the West Ham way, they said. Former Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers often used phrases like 'Our DNA' during his time at Liverpool, as if to claim some unique characteristic that set his club apart. These are blurred areas, often mistaken for simpler distinctions between winning and losing.

But there is no doubt Swansea gained a reputation for a particular style of football since Roberto Martinez's arrival in 2007, which saw them through to the Premier League under Rodgers. The side has continued to evolve, but Sigurdsson believes that was part of the problem earlier this season.

"I think somewhere along the line we went away from what we're all about. Because if you look at the last six or seven years and what Swansea are known for, I think we didn't perform like we used to. We didn't pass the ball like we used to and defend like we once did. We used to win the ball high up the pitch then keep the ball."

When Garry Monk departed in December, it was club hero and long-serving coach Alan Curtis who took temporary charge. His first match brought an unlucky defeat away to Manchester City, but from that game on the team started to return to the style Sigurdsson talks about. After a long spell on the sidelines, Leon Britton had been restored to the starting XI in the final games of Monk's reign, and his tenacity and passing in the midfield holding role helped the team build from a solid base once more.

Curtis was ready to take a backseat again when Francesco Guidolin arrived from Italy to take charge of the team in January. But an illness to the 60-year-old Italian thrust Curtis into the limelight once more.

"He's been fantastic, really good," Sigurdsson says of Curtis. "All of the boys look up to him and he knows the club inside out. He knows what it means to the club and the city to stay in the Premier League. But of course he's also very experienced and very calm and he's done very well in the absence of the manager and the time before that when he and Dave Adams were taking charge of the team.  When Garry left, Curt stepped in and steadied the ship. He took charge for a few games and our performances improved. I think he's very important for us."

So what do Swansea need to do between now and the end of the season to ensure their survival for another season?

"It's a case of just going back to what we're good at and playing the football that we used to play; exciting attacking football and keeping the ball with a lot of pressure in the team. If we can do that we'll be more than fine."

Watch the full interview with Johnny Phillips and Gylfi Sigurdsson on Soccer Saturday from 12noon on Sky Sports News HQ, and watch Swansea v Aston Villa on Saturday Night Football from 5pm on Sky Sports 1 HD