Potter pleased by mix of quality and character

19th January
First team

Graham Potter felt his Swansea City side had shown a mix of quality and character to extend their unbeaten run with a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United.

Oli McBurnie grabbed his 11th goal of the season from a Nathan Dyer cutback as the Swans cut down the high-flying Blades in a hard-fought Liberty Stadium encounter.

The hosts had struggled to make an impact in the contest before the break, but showed greater energy and purpose after the break and got their rewards.

It means the Swans have not tasted defeat in five matches - the longest such sequence of manager Potter's tenure to date - and saw them rise to ninth in the Championship table.

They had to hold off a late surge from the visitors to claim the three points, and dug in to seal the victory.

"We struggled the first 20 minutes to get any real fluidity in the game," said Potter.

"Then for the second half I just asked them to play better. I thought we could have played better in the first half.

"In fairness the players did, in the second half I thought we were really good.  

"We managed to stretch the game a bit and Oli played a little deeper so we had more combinations there and a threat in behind.

"But, again, you have to survive a little bit as they are pumping balls into the box as you expect and they are a good team.

"We are delighted with a 1-0 win and it shows a lot of the character of the players and I am very happy."