Alan Curtis: Swansea City suffering 'crisis of confidence'

Alan Curtis is in his fourth stint as Swansea caretaker manager

Caretaker manager Alan Curtis says Swansea City, the Premier League's bottom side, are suffering from a "crisis of confidence".

Following former boss Bob Bradley's sacking on Tuesday, Curtis oversaw a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth.

A fourth straight loss has left the Swans four points adrift of safety.

"There are good players out there but, once we concede, you can see the confidence draining out of players," Curtis told BBC Wales Sport.

"The explanation I guess is we're bottom of the table, we're not winning games, conceding too many [goals] and then we get a crisis of confidence once the first one goes in.

"Naively or not, I still think there should be enough to get better results but confidence in sport, especially in football, is such a fragile thing."

Swansea hope to appoint a permanent successor to Bradley by Monday, with Bayern Munich assistant manager Paul Clement the leading candidate.

Until an appointment is confirmed, Curtis will continue to prepare the team for Tuesday's trip to Crystal Palace with assistant manager Paul Williams.

Swansea's 4-1 Boxing Day thrashing by West Ham prompted a furious backlash from the Liberty Stadium crowd, whose calls for Bradley to be sacked were heeded 24 hours later.

The supporters had also criticised chairman Jenkins and his fellow directors, accused of greed by the fans after selling some of their shares to new American owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan in July.

Curtis had sympathy for the Swansea supporters, who turned on Jenkins and the board again during the defeat by Bournemouth.

"At the start of the game there was a good atmosphere but, once that first goal goes in, as we suffer as a team, the crowd suffers," he added.

"They showed their dissatisfaction at the end, but not so much towards the team as the issues off the park."