Jon Grey | U23s must be brave in possession to succeed at Swansea City

Jon Grey has challenged Swansea City Under-23s to demonstrate the right personality and be brave on the ball ahead of their Professional Development League South clash with Bristol City on Tuesday (7pm).

The young Swans are aiming for a first victory in seven attempts when they welcome the young Robins to Landore, and will be looking to bounce back from their 2-1 loss away at Cardiff last time out.

Despite taking an early lead through Bradley Gibbings' first goal at this level, the Swans were punished by two second-half set-pieces in quick succession at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium as they slipped to a fifth defeat in six.

Grey’s side were uncharacteristically sloppy in possession and their trademark free-flowing passing deserted them as they struggled to build any momentum against their buoyant opponents.

And the under-23s coach insists his players must correct that issue as soon as possible if they are to progress into the first-team environment under Steve Cooper.

“If you’re going to succeed at Swansea City, you have to be able to look after the ball in tight areas under pressure and want to take possession in those areas,” he said.

“We were disappointed with the personality the players showed against Cardiff. 

“We did really well in the first half; we defended really well, got possession of the ball and looked quite comfortable. 

“We took a deserved lead and I thought we may go on to win by a couple of goals.

“But in the second half, we just stopped playing. When we came under pressure, we showed a little bit of panic in our play. We didn’t control the tempo as we did in the first half. Once they got the equaliser, we became even more edgy. 

“The personality of a Swansea City player is to get possession of the ball – even under extreme pressure.”