Vitor Matos | We have to be ready for another tough challenge

Head coach Vitor Matos says he and his Swansea City side are well aware of the challenge that lies in wait when they face Birmingham City at St Andrew’s on Saturday afternoon (3pm).

The Swans head to the West Midlands looking to bounce back from their late defeat at Portsmouth in midweek, with Matos expecting another demanding test against a Blues side he believes will pose another physical challenge. 

Birmingham have won five of their last six matches coming into the game, including a comprehensive midweek win over Millwall. They sit above the Swans on goal difference in third place and are two points behind league leaders Middlesbrough.

And Matos acknowledges the tough test that awaits for his side, insisting they must remain brave both in and out of possession.

“Birmingham are a really intense team,” he said. “They use man-marking, especially in the opposition half. 

"They are really aggressive and follow the player. That makes the game more direct, with lots of duels.

“You need to be much more vertical in some situations to be able to break that. It's not easy to prepare for these types of games in a short space of time, of course, but that's what we will do. 

"We will find ways to be competitive against a good team with good players and a clear idea. They are strong on set-pieces and really try to take advantage of every opportunity.”

The Swans have faced comparable tests against the likes of Lincoln City and Millwall already on the road this season, and Matos is confident his side have already shown they can compete against teams who adopt a more direct approach.

“We have already coped with that. Lincoln and Millwall are games where we have seen these types of teams, who are more vertical and more direct,” he added.

“When games are like that, it's hard to control them. It’s harder for us to control the game and bring it back to where we like to have it. But we have already shown that we can do that.

“What we need is to keep focusing on these small things and try to improve them because that will allow us to stay stable when these types of teams are strong, and then, with time, start to generate the type of game that we want again.

“What we need is to try to stay calm, focus on what we can do better and what we need to do to be competitive, and then, step by step, stay around this group of teams and see how it ends."