Sheehan's Swans in need of more going forward

Alan Sheehan insisted he had an unfamiliar feeling as Swansea City emerged with a point at Southampton on Saturday.

It was Swansea's fourth Championship draw this season after Watford (1-1), Hull City (2-2) and Millwall (1-1).

But Southampton was different from the rest, Sheehan argued, because it was the first time his team had not been "massively in the ascendancy".

That is a debatable point given that Watford, Hull and Millwall all gave Swansea problems in stages.

But what is not in question is that this weekend's backs-to-the-wall stalemate at a club who were in the Premier League last season felt much more like a win for Swansea than any of their three home draws in 2025-26.

Hull, in particular, was galling given that the Tigers equalised following a set-piece in the seventh minute of added time.

Millwall was also irritating for Swansea given that they were in front only to concede a set-piece goal seconds before half-time.

But the fact is that Swansea might have beaten Watford, Hull and Millwall had they produced more quality in the final third – and that has been a common issue throughout this season.

Sheehan's Swansea side have been largely solid, but improvement going forward is required if they are to mount a play-off push this season.

The need for better was highlighted at Southampton, where home goalkeeper Alex McCarthy eased through one of the quietest afternoons he will have all season.

"We need to get to a place where we are more fluent when we are attacking and we are creating more chances," Sheehan acknowledged.

"At times this season we have done it with ease. We've got into wonderful positions and left some points behind."

But not at Southampton. After Saturday's point gained, Swansea's attention turns to successive home league fixtures against Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City.

The expectation for Sheehan's team will be to offer much more going forward in each of those games.