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Ryan Manning wants Swansea City to hit the ground running next season

10th May
First team

Ryan Manning believes Swansea City paid for a slow start to the 2021-22 campaign, and wants to make sure they hit the ground running next term.

Manning believes an “upside down” pre-season played its part as the Swans secured just two league wins before dispatching Cardiff City 3-0 on October 17 – a result which kick-started a better run of form.

Things clicked into place in the latter part of the campaign, and Swans were one of the divisions in-form sides throughout April and ended the season having lost just two of their last 11 games.

“It was obviously a disappointing way to end the season, but I think our overall form has been good,” Manning said following the final-day defeat to QPR.

“We went eight or nine unbeaten which is one of our better runs in recent years so there’s positives to take from it.

“It was probably evident throughout the season that there was a lack of fitness from the upside down pre-season.

"I think with a good pre-season behind us after a year of this philosophy and understanding how the manager wants us to play, I think that’s going to be crucial to get a good start.

“The slow start killed us this year, because we finished quite brightly. So pre-season will be massive.

“I think we have to be looking for play-offs next season, or top 10 at least. With the squad we have, the way we play, the games we’ve dominated this season but not got our rewards out of, we know If we eradicate the mistakes and take advantage when we’re on top, we can turn draws and losses into more points.”

Manning himself had to be patient during the later stages of the season. He was sent off for a challenge on Harry Wilson in defeat to Fulham on March 8 earning a four game suspension due to it being his second red card offense of the season.

He didn’t feature again for the Swans until a trip to Millwall almost a month later, and he found himself utilised in a different positions over the closing weeks.

“The way my suspension worked out being either side of the international break, it prolonged things a bit and the team were doing so well so I had to bide my time to get back in,” he added.

“It can affect your rhythm when you’re not playing every week but it was something to learn from and try not to allow it to happen next season.

“The way we play, you have to know two or three different positions to understand the way we do things.

“For me, the more positions I can play, the more I can offer the manager and the more I can get into the starting XI. So it’s just about trying to play as much as I can.”