Potter: We can do better

Graham Potter admitted Swansea City “can do better” after seeing his team go down 1-0 at Aston Villa.

An early goal from former Swan Tammy Abraham was enough to ensure new Villa boss Dean Smith tasted victory in his first game in charge.

It was a frustrating afternoon for the Swans, who improved as the contest wore on and created enough opportunities to get back into the game.

Villa might also have extended their lead, however, and Potter conceded that his side were not at their best.

“When you go a goal down early on as we did in an environment like this, it’s going to be a challenge,” Potter said.

“We stuck in there and we clawed our way into the game.

“If you look at the chances today, they are probably quite even. But in terms of our overall performance, I think we can do better.

“That’s part of the process for us – to come to places like Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Stoke and create chances while reducing the chances the opposition get.

“That’s a work in progress for us. I think you can see what we are trying to do, but there is still progress to be made.

“I can’t say we deserved a win today and so we move on to Tuesday.”

There was a rousing atmosphere inside a sold-out Villa Park as the home side paid tribute following the death of long-time chairman Sir Doug Ellis – and welcomed new manager Smith.

And Potter reckons his young side will grow having played in front of more than 41,000.

“It’s a challenging atmosphere here,” he added.

“Congratulations to Aston Villa for the way they set the environment up and the tribute to Sir Doug Ellis, which I thought was very nicely done.

“The home crowd had a new manager to get behind and we had a lot of things to deal with.

“We were a little bit disappointed with the way we played in the first half. It’s a challenge and we are a young team, but again that’s part of the process.

“It’s the first time a lot of our lads have experienced anything like that and we conceded a goal in a poor manner.

“That can affect you a little bit psychologically, but we eventually got some control back.

“The players responded well and they gave everything and we created some opportunities.

“We were there in the game until the end, but we were not quite there. That’s probably the reality.”