Alan Sheehan | We will need to dig deep again

Caretaker head coach Alan Sheehan wants Swansea City to continue to show their resilience away from home when they travel to face Southampton in this afternoon’s Boxing Day fixture (3pm).

The Swans head to St Mary’s having taken seven points from their last four games, including the three secured thanks to Jamie Paterson’s last-gasp winner against Preston North End on Friday.

The other four points have come on their travels, against Rotherham United and Stoke City respectively, where the Swans showed character to pick up points despite not performing to the level Sheehan and his players wanted.

And the Irishman believes the visitors will need to be prepared to dig deep once again against an in-form Saints team.

“They will be a different kind of challenge to the one we faced against Preston,” said Sheehan.

“We have gone from facing a side who were very physical and we are taking on a side who are where they are in the league.

“So, we have got to dust ourselves down quickly and be ready to go.

“We have shown resilience away from home, so it’s about building that character to be able to get wins and points on the board.

“We are at the halfway stage of the season, we are not where we want to be but hopefully we can keep building confidence within the group.

“We know the challenge, every game poses different questions and challenges but we want to go there and put on a performance.

“Winning is a good habit to get in to, particularly when you know you have room to improve.”