Alan Sheehan | We want to improve and we will need everyone together to do that

Alan Sheehan and Swansea City are relishing the return of Championship action this weekend, and the head coach wants to carry forward the togetherness and positivity that characterised the strong end to last season.

The Swans head to Middlesbrough on Saturday, with a trip to Teesside being their opening assignment for the second season in a row.

Sheehan’s Swans ended the 2024-25 campaign as one of the form sides in the division, taking 17 points from the final eight games of the campaign, which included a five-match winning run.

While pre-season preparations have been hit by some unfortunate injuries, the Swans boss says he and his squad are excited to get back to the serious business of playing for points, and believes the club can continue to head in the right direction over the course of the year ahead with everyone pulling in the same direction.

“It becomes real now, there is a different feel to a Championship game and it is one we are pleased to have back,” he said.

“We are looking forward to Saturday. We have had a good week of training, this is what we have all been waiting for and we are excited to get going.

“We want to be competitive, we finished last season with wonderful momentum and we got to a place where we had built good character, resilience and confidence within the group and the club.

“We want to evolve, we want to become a better team, a team that Championship teams play and know they are going to be in for a difficult test.

“I know everyone wants to ask what we think we will do over the season ahead, but I think we have been clear that we want to be a club that improves.

“In order to be successful you need to gain momentum over a period of time and a number of transfer windows, and keep the core of a group together, but you also need everybody on board.

“That means the players, the staff, the fans, everybody. You can’t have anybody pulling against the current, we need everybody to be on the journey and on that one road.

“We have had big news at the club over these last months with Luke (Modric) and Snoop (Dogg), our ownership are fully onboard and there is a lot of positivity around the club.”