Richards expects more from U23s

Gary Richards admitted he expected more from Swansea City Under-23s in Monday's Premier League 2 defeat by Blackburn Rovers.

The young Swans went down 3-1 at the Blackburn Rovers Academy after they conceded three goals in the first half.

Joe Lewis did grab a consolation but it was a disappointing afternoon for the visitors, who finished the game with 10 men after George Byers was shown a straight red card.

"We were very disappointed with our first-half performance," Richards said. "We probably got what we deserved because we weren't at the levels that we expect.

"We're usually a lot better with the ball and, at the same time, we allowed them space to play.

"We changed our structure a little bit at half-time in the hope that we could produce a more positive second-half performance but, when George was sent off, that made things even more difficult.

"I think the second half was better. We were more competitive but, offensively, we were disappointed not to have asked more questions of our opponents."

That result saw the Swans slip to the foot of the Premier League 2 table, having collected seven points from their opening 12 games.

And Richards has urged his players to bounce back in a bid to preserve their place in the top flight of development football.

"We're desperate to stay in the league," he added. 

"We want to be in this division, so we're going to have to work hard on the training field.

"The bottom line is we have to start picking up points."