Fer: Too little, too late

2nd December
First team

Leroy Fer felt the Swans left it too late in their bid to rescue a point at Derby County.

Graham Potter’s side had looked to be heading for defeat at Pride Park until a late own goal gave the visitors hope of pinching a point.

But it proved mere consolation as Derby held on to condemn the Swans to a third defeat within a week.

Harry Wilson’s first-half brace sent the Rams on their way to victory, with Fikayo Tomori’s own goal from a Matt Grimes corner reducing the deficit in the 87th minute.

And Fer, who came off the bench in the second half, felt the nature of the performance and result means another big lesson for Potter’s youngsters.

“It has been another tough day at the office and another game we must learn from,” said the Dutch midfielder.

“We did not start the game well, but we showed more character in the second half and were trying to get something from the game.

“The goal came maybe a little too late to get anything from the game. So this is a big learning process for us.

“This has been a tough week for us. It just shows how tough the Championship can be. Every team has a tough run in this league.

“Now we need to make sure we get our heads together and look to bounce back as soon as possible with a result next week.

“We just have to keep doing what we can do and know what we are capable of. The bottom line is that we must improve and get better.

“We have a good group of players but if you don’t win games football is going to be hard.”