'We have to take the pain'

Swans boss Graham Potter believes his young squad will learn the harsh lessons dished out at the New York Stadium following their 2-1 defeat by Rotherham.

The Swans were dominant for large parts of the encounter, with Oli McBurnie firing them ahead in the first half with his seventh of the season.

But two late penalties from Ryan Manning earned the Millers maximum points and denied the Swans the victory they deserved.

“We didn’t score the second goal, it’s as simple as that,’’ said Potter.

“Despite the fact that we dominated the game and restricted the home team to virtually nothing, while it’s only 1-0 you always leave yourself open.

"It could be a bit of brilliance or a mistake from the referee or a player and that’s what happened.

“If you look at the game in its entirety, we had enough chances to score the second goal and didn’t. It was probably our best attacking performance away from home of the season. But ultimately you have to score goals.

“It’s one of those we have to learn from. We have to take the pain and try to be better.

“It’s probably the next stage of where we are at as a team. There’s a long season ahead. Of course the result is important, but you also have to have a way of playing and idea and try to develop that to be better.

“We are suffering a bit now because we felt we put a lot into the game and should have had a lot more out of it.

“It’s a learning point. I said to them life is not fair - don’t feel sorry for yourself and feel you deserved something. The reality is that unless you can be clinical and put games to bed with that second or third goal then anything can happen - and you have to accept it.’’