Routledge: We have to be better

Wayne Routledge has urged Swansea City to get back on track following defeat at Sheffield Wednesday when they return to the Liberty Stadium next weekend.

Having booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup against Brentford, Graham Potter’s men were brought back down to earth with a bump as three first-half goals set the Owls on their way to a 3-1 triumph at Hillsborough.

Routledge – making his return from a calf injury – gave the visitors a lifeline with his second-half goal but it was not enough on a disappointing afternoon.

Defeat put a further dent in any aspirations the Swans have of making the play-offs, and the winger knows they must respond, and quickly, when Bolton head to SA1.

“We have to remember this is a young team, we are learning and nobody is perfect,” he said.

“The first half was not what we are about but we knuckled down and put in a better performance in the second half, but we know we have to be better again next week.

“Every game is a learning curve, you learn something new. This is definitely a game where there is plenty we can learn from.

“A lot of things come from experience and learning the league, this is not an easy place to come and it’s new to a lot of the boys.

“But we need a better performance and a better result next week.”

Routledge has featured regularly since the start of December, but has seen recent action limited by his calf problem, which was first suffered in the win over Sheffield United.

But the experienced wide man is hopeful of pressing on in the coming weeks.

“Obviously this was not a good day for us but physically I feel good,” he said.

“It has been a difficult one as I missed a lot of football over the first half of the season and I am trying to catch, up so you can get those niggles, but it’s about making sure you are in the best place to help the team.”