Russell Martin | Our focus remains on building this team
Russell Martin insists he is committed to Swansea City and has his sights set on continuing to build and improve.
The Swans are set to take on Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday, looking to bounce back from defeat to Birmingham City last time out.
That result came at the end of a week which saw the January transfer window close without any new additions to the Swansea squad.
Head coach Martin and captain Matt Grimes both acknowledged the frustration felt by players and staff at Fairwood, with the Swans boss being particularly open and honest in his assessment.
But he is adamant events of the last week have not diverted him from his ultimate goal of building an identity and a team that can bring success to Swansea City.
“It’s far from the end (of my work here),” said Martin.
“It’s never been a thought. Everyone’s frustrated, but that’s gone, you can’t affect it.
“You have a choice, and our choice is to focus on building a team and young players, conditioning the team to play in a certain way, physically and mentally.
“We absolutely love doing it. I wouldn't do anything I didn't love doing. Obviously results like last weekend, and the manner of it, hurt. I know I made mistakes that I will learn from.
“So, of course you have that sense of disappointment, but it’s about dealing with it and coming in and being consistent in our approach to our work and how we are with the players every day.
“I went home, I watched my boys play football on Sunday. They ran around and enjoyed themselves, and by the time I came back in on Monday I was excited to get back to work.
“The league is starting to take shape, the teams in and around the play-offs are the ones with financial power. If you haven’t got that you need time to build, and that’s one thing I have been given here.
“The improvement we’ve made in 18 months, in every aspect of the game, the amount of chances we get, dominance of the ball we get in the opposition half; everything’s moving in the right direction.
“I understand people want to see results that reflect that. We want that, and the players want that too.
“But no-one should underestimate the amount of courage it takes the players to play the way we are asking them to.
“It requires incredible attention to detail, the willingness to make mistakes on the training pitch. Players don’t want to make mistakes. They don’t want to be vulnerable in front of their team-mates or coaches.
“But we have a group that are willing to do that and hold their hands up and come back to keep working to try and improve and succeed for everyone at this club.”