Bob Bradley: Swansea City must cope with adversity
14th December
Bob Bradley reckons Swansea City must learn to cope with adversity after watching hopes of victory at West Brom unravel in 13 mad minutes at The Hawthorns.
The Swans had shown some encouraging signs in a first half which ended goalless in the Black Country.
But their bid to make it three wins in four Premier League games disappeared in the opening stages of the second period.
Salomon Rondon opened the scoring on 50 minutes when he headed home from a Matt Phillips free-kick.
By the 63rd minute, he had scored two more headers to kill off the Swans, who scored late on through Wayne Routledge to make the final score 3-1.
"We conceded early in the second half from a set-piece, and for me one of the most important things that we have to improve is that when we go behind, we have got to be able to get back into the game," Bradley said.
"We have to string some passes together. We cannot panic or lose concentration and belief.
"We have to trust the fact that as the game goes on, we will have a chance to get back into it.
"At 3-0, we actually played some decent football, but it was those 13 minutes where we lost our way.
"I still think we can do this. We showed some positive signs at Everton, and here in the first half, in terms of what you need to look like in the Premier League, there were a lot of good positive things.
"That's something we will not forget, but you have to show resilience and mentality when you want points on the road.
"We have to be able to fight through some tough spells and give ourselves a chance when we concede a goal.
"We are hurting ourselves with these errors, and that part of it makes me feel angry."
The Swans had looked capable of building on their weekend win over Sunderland during a first half in which they kept possession well and played some good football.
But their grip on the game was ripped away soon after the break.
Rondon's first goal came after he lost his marker to meet Phillips's right-wing free-kick.
The second goal came when Chris Brunt whipped in a cross from the left and Rondon was allowed time and space to head home.
And the Venezuelan frontman completed his treble when he powered home another header from another left-wing cross from Brunt.
"I think with second and third goal we dropped too deep," added Bradley.
"We need to make it more difficult for their strikers. They are big guys. If you let them camp in your box, you are in trouble."
