Michael Duff | We want to show purpose in possession

Michael Duff has challenged his Swansea City side to show a cutting edge with the ball when they host Hull City at the Swansea.com Stadium this afternoon (3pm).

The Swans return to action following the international break with a meeting with the eighth-placed Tigers, having taken 17 points from their previous 10 games.

The visitors have won three of their last four and have a good away record; with the Swansea head coach expecting a keenly-fought contest between two possession-based sides.

But he wants the Swans to make sure they show purpose in possession, as they strive for consistency having made strides following a tough start to the campaign.

“Everyone wants consistency but it is such a tough league and consistency is a by-product of your work and your performances,” said Duff.

“Those are the things we can control, but it’s about finding a way and adapting what we do. That’s the constant challenge.

“If we use the last 10 games as a template there is consistency within that. We learnt from a tough start, we have improved and now it's a case of whether we can keep nudging it forward.

“The focus has to be on the day-to-day work. We want to be as competitive as possible, and it’s down to what we do as a group.

“On Saturday, it will be two possession-based teams, but it’s about the balance of having possession with purpose, we will hope to hurt them with the press and with the ball. They will want to do the same to us.

“We have had plenty of the ball in recent games, but it’s about what you do with he ball, and we want more penetration in what we do.

“They are a team who are 12 months down the line and have spent a bit of money, but Liam is a good guy and a good manager, with a clear idea how he wants to play and he sticks to it.

“He was the same at Derby when we faced him early last season, he has done a good job. He is one of the good people in football and you wish good people every success, just hopefully not on Saturday.”