Final flourish a promising sign for Mike

Mike van der Hoorn believes Swansea City’s strong finish in the Championship shows they can be a force under Graham Potter next season.

The Swans’ form in the last nine games of the campaign was hugely impressive, with five wins and three draws sealing a 10th-placed finish.

Their hopes of claiming the final play-off spot were ended with two games to go, but van der Hoorn believes the late surge of form gave a big indication of the potential in the squad.

And, he feels, the experience gained by Potter’s young squad this season will serve them well next term.

“Over the last nine games we only lost once, against QPR, so it shows we finished the season strongly,” said the Dutch centre-back.

“Consistency is very important in this league, and we showed we are capable of that in the final few weeks of the season.

“We won a lot of home games, but we needed to improve our form on the road. That will be the aim next season and I think we can do that under the manager.

“We will want to push for the play-offs next season.

“It’s hard to think that the season is over. We have come a long way this season.

“On reflection, it was a bit of a rollercoaster in the first few months because a lot of players left.

“We rebuilt and started a new team. It took time to get an understanding of each other on the pitch, but we did well and I think everyone can be pleased with how much we have developed.”