Steve Cooper | We were well below par

2nd April
First team
Steve Cooper

Steve Cooper conceded Swansea City were well below par as they lost ground on promotion rivals Watford following a last-gasp defeat to Birmingham City.

The Swans suffered a third consecutive defeat after sub Scott Hogan fired home an injury-time penalty in the Midlands.

The Blues had seen a first-half penalty kept out by Freddie Woodman, but Hogan’s late effort settled an otherwise low-key affair in which the Swans failed to create any real chances.

Defeat means the Swans now sit nine points adrift of second-placed Watford, though they have a game in hand, with eight matches remaining.

And the Swans boss didn’t hold back in his assessment of his team’s performance.

Andre Ayew

“For sure, it was a poor performance. We fell well short of the levels that we aim to hit, and have hit on many times this year,” said Cooper.

“We can’t back away from the fact we were nowhere near good enough today, particularly with the ball.

“I know they’ve had two penalties, but there wasn’t a load of chances in the game. We defended okay and showed enough commitment to that, but we’re a much better team on the ball than what we showed tonight.

“In the end, that probably was the biggest reason why the performance was what it was, and the result.

“In the build up to this game, we trained so well and everything was positive. What we’d seen in the last week or two was not what I saw tonight.

“That was disappointing and we won’t hide away from the fact we were well below par.”