Tonight's Swansea City news as star pulls off 'special' moment and Russell Martin eyes managerial return
The latest news from the Swansea.com Stadium
Here's your round-up of all the latest Swansea City news for Thursday, April 10.
Key basks in 'special' Plymouth strike
Josh Key says his stunning strike in the win over Plymouth Argyle has been a long time coming - and admits he should have perhaps added a few more goals to his game since arriving at Swansea City. With his side 2-0 up against the Pilgrims, Key effectively killed the game off as a contest 10 minutes before half-time, courtesy of a superb curling effort from 25 yards.
It was just his third goal since arriving at the Swans in the summer of 2023, and the full-back believes he probably should have a few more to his name by now. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here.
“The goal has been a long time coming," he said. "I probably should have scored a couple more this year as I have got myself into the positions to do so. It was nice to get one like that.
“The ball that Franco gave me, and the space it put in front of me, it just made me think the best option for me was to shoot.
“Even if the keeper saves it, there’s a chance he parries it and someone else can profit. But I hit it well and with enough conviction that it went in over the keeper.
“It was definitely a shot, people have been asking me! But I think for a lot of players when you shoot you can never fully know exactly where it’s going, unless you are Messi or Ronaldo, and I was delighted it went in.”
Sheehan looking up
Swansea City's interim boss Alan Sheehan says he's still not sure if his side have done enough to stay in the Championship, but insists he is now starting to look up the table rather than down.
The Swans produced one of their best performances of the season, ruthlessly taking apart rock bottom Plymouth on Wednesday night, courtesy of a vibrant attacking performance at the Swansea.com Stadium.
The 3-0 win means the gap between the Swans and the relegation zone now stands at nine points, a cushion that, barring a monumental collapse, should be enough to ensure Championship football for another season.
However, having seen his side take 14 points from Sheehan's eight games in interim charge, there's little appetite from the Irishman for the Swans to take their foot off the gas.
"Are we safe? I don't know," he mused after the win over the Pilgrims. "It's hard to know. I don't really look at that. We want to chase teams and be the best version of ourselves," he said.
"When we were on 48 [points] before the game I wanted to get over 50 and that's a good achievement from where we were. But now it's about getting to the next level.
"We've jumped another place and that's the challenge always, to finish as high as you can and get the best out of every single game."
Martin eyeing managerial return amid Rangers links
Russell Martin says he's ready to make a return to management - and says he's already turned down several job offers.
The former Swansea City boss is currently the bookies' favourite to take over at Scottish giants Rangers, where he made 17 appearances as a player during a short loan spell in 2018.
After leaving the Swans for Southampton in 2023, Martin is currently out of work, having been sacked by the Saints back in December, but says he's excited to take the next step in his career.
"I turned down a few jobs in the last few months," he told Gary Lineker on The Rest Is Football podcast: "One or two abroad, and a couple here. It didn't feel right, I wasn't ready. I was a little bit hurt, to be honest with you. But it's really at the point now where I'm starting to feel excited about what's next.
“I’m really happy that I’m still as authentic as I can be, and I believe in the same things. I’m still clear in what I want, and what I believe in. But I’m not far away from where I started off. In fact, I’ve been probably gone a bit more extreme than I would have done at the start.
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“I’m pleased about that. But there’s definitely stuff we can do better. I think I need to do everything I can to get to a level to showcase that again, and really show people that it does work and not necessarily with just the best players. Now I’ve had a taste of the [English] Premier League, I want to get back there, and I believe I can.
“I didn’t have that at Swansea [pre-season], so we were playing catch up throughout the season - that’s why we got better and better. That time I had at Southampton, being in from day one...is so important. Without that foundation, it would have looked very different. I hope to be back in pre-season, somewhere.
“Context is important. People forget that in football a lot. The culture of the club, what it’s about, what it’s been used to. I’m not sure there’s certain clubs I could go into and ask for patience, where the goalie’s standing on the ball for 25 seconds, but they want it put forward quickly, because that’s what they’ve been used to. I’m aware I’ve probably limited my job options, somewhat.
“I’m aware my next venture might be abroad. I’d be open to that. I want to do it at some point. I want to manage at the highest level. Manage in the Champions League, and to do it in our way - hopefully. We’ll see. It’s a long way off.”