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The real test of Phil Parkinson’s motivational skills could start the moment he and his players step foot aboard the team bus bound for South Wales this morning.
Preparation for the Liberty Stadium has hardly been ideal. More wage worries, ongoing takeover talks and the added bonus of an FA disciplinary charge for both club and manager after last week’s fracas at Leeds United.
Parkinson hopes to use some of that pent-up frustration when his side comes up against Swansea tomorrow - a team which has struggled to adapt the rigours of the Championship after relegation.
Graham Potter’s team sit 14th and a few points closer to the top six than the bottom three but their return to the second tier has certainly not gone according to plan.
“Swansea have got some good footballers, a talented team, (Oli) McBurnie and (Daniel) James in particular,” said Parkinson.
“But they haven’t quite got Leeds’ tenacity in the way they work but they have got equal levels of quality.
“We have to take our intensity from the match at Elland Road into this match down there. If we do, we will have a very good chance of getting a result.”
Parkinson says morale among the players remains reasonable, given recent events.
“The lads are in a good place despite the defeats against Norwich and Leeds and what has happened today,” he said of the wage issues.
“I can’t fault the way they have trained and I am always stressing that to them, they have to focus on the training pitch.
“We are training down in Wales tomorrow and getting an early start to miss the traffic. We need to concentrate on what we have to do to make that gap a smaller one on Saturday night.”
Wanderers can close the gap to safety to one point if they beat Swansea and results elsewhere go their way. Parkinson looks at the remaining dozen games with some optimism but admits his team must start taking control of their own destiny.
“I said after the Leeds game that this block of 12 games is what we have to focus on, now,” he said.
“We played well at Leeds and we were pleased with that performance. We have gone through what we did well there and what we didn’t do well, we weren’t happy with the goals for various reasons. We know what we need to take into the Swansea game.
“There will be one or two changes, we have got a couple of niggles, Jason Lowe is obviously out, but whoever comes in knows what we have to do to replicate the Leeds performance because if we do, we’ve got a great chance of getting a result.
“The bonus for us was the Reading-Rotherham draw after our defeat. However it worked out, we’re still in touching distance and we have still got a decent chance.
“Obviously we can’t keep relying on other teams we have to take points ourselves but we have got a realistic chance with 12 games to go.”
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Preparation for the Liberty Stadium has hardly been ideal. More wage worries, ongoing takeover talks and the added bonus of an FA disciplinary charge for both club and manager after last week’s fracas at Leeds United.
Parkinson hopes to use some of that pent-up frustration when his side comes up against Swansea tomorrow - a team which has struggled to adapt the rigours of the Championship after relegation.
Graham Potter’s team sit 14th and a few points closer to the top six than the bottom three but their return to the second tier has certainly not gone according to plan.
“Swansea have got some good footballers, a talented team, (Oli) McBurnie and (Daniel) James in particular,” said Parkinson.
“But they haven’t quite got Leeds’ tenacity in the way they work but they have got equal levels of quality.
“We have to take our intensity from the match at Elland Road into this match down there. If we do, we will have a very good chance of getting a result.”
Parkinson says morale among the players remains reasonable, given recent events.
“The lads are in a good place despite the defeats against Norwich and Leeds and what has happened today,” he said of the wage issues.
“I can’t fault the way they have trained and I am always stressing that to them, they have to focus on the training pitch.
“We are training down in Wales tomorrow and getting an early start to miss the traffic. We need to concentrate on what we have to do to make that gap a smaller one on Saturday night.”
Wanderers can close the gap to safety to one point if they beat Swansea and results elsewhere go their way. Parkinson looks at the remaining dozen games with some optimism but admits his team must start taking control of their own destiny.
“I said after the Leeds game that this block of 12 games is what we have to focus on, now,” he said.
“We played well at Leeds and we were pleased with that performance. We have gone through what we did well there and what we didn’t do well, we weren’t happy with the goals for various reasons. We know what we need to take into the Swansea game.
“There will be one or two changes, we have got a couple of niggles, Jason Lowe is obviously out, but whoever comes in knows what we have to do to replicate the Leeds performance because if we do, we’ve got a great chance of getting a result.
“The bonus for us was the Reading-Rotherham draw after our defeat. However it worked out, we’re still in touching distance and we have still got a decent chance.
“Obviously we can’t keep relying on other teams we have to take points ourselves but we have got a realistic chance with 12 games to go.”
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