Russell Martin brands Swansea City 'soft' and 'pathetic'
- Published
Russell Martin (left) was unhappy with how Reading goalkeeper Joe Lumley (right) celebrated their win over Swansea
Russell Martin has branded his Swansea City team "soft" and "pathetic" after Tuesday's defeat at Reading extended their winless run to eight games.
The Swans have lost three and drawn five of their past eight matches, conceding first on seven occasions.
Without a victory since October, they have now slipped to 16th place in the Championship table.
"We're soft. We concede the first goal too many times - that's why we haven't won," said Martin.
"I think we dominate every facet of the game but we give away a goal from a set-piece [against Reading], we give away a penalty from a set-piece.
"There's a problem there, and that will perpetuate a myth that we give away loads of goals. We're chasing the game again, as usual.
"I can't criticise the performance between the boxes again but I'm fed up of saying the same thing. We're too nice in both boxes.
"We're soft - I've just said that to the players. I'm fed up of us rolling over and getting our stomachs tickled by opposition teams who come off the pitch saying we're the best team they've played this season - but we get beaten.
"That doesn't mean anything if you're not willing to fight and protect your own box and protect your own goal.
"The amount of goals we've conceded from the amount of chances we've given away is pathetic, really pathetic and it's boring."
Swansea enjoyed an excellent start to the season and, after beating rivals Cardiff City in October, Martin's men were fourth in the table and only three points adrift of the automatic promotion spots.
Since that derby triumph, however, the Swans have been in the lead for a mere 44 minutes over the course of eight matches.
That is despite being top of the Championship's possession table and controlling games for long periods.
"We've outscored everyone in terms of shots on target, chances, regains on the press, all that stuff - but it's pointless if we don't win," Martin added.
"When you're that soft in your own box, you're going to have a problem.
"I'm just fed up. People have this picture that we're really happy playing that way and getting beaten, as long as we dominate the ball and all that stuff, but that's ridiculous. We want to win.
"But we haven't won for a long while and it really hurts, and the goals we're conceding really hurt."
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