Look beyond Sheehan? It would be a major call now
- Published
Alan Sheehan has helped Swansea City claim 23 points in 11 games since taking over as caretaker boss in mid-February.
It is form which would be deemed acceptable at any club in the Championship given that Sheehan's points return – when reproduced over a full season, of course – would almost certainly be good enough to deliver automatic promotion.
The fact that this sparkling run has come after Swansea's desperate spell at the start of 2025 makes it all the more impressive.
Having featured various signs of promise, Luke Williams' Swansea reign ended in mid-February with relegation concerns.
The Swans were 17th in the table and a relatively healthy eight points clear of the bottom three when Williams departed.
But Williams' ailing side were on a run of seven defeats in nine matches and worries over a potential relegation scrap were growing by the game, the battling victory at Bristol City on 9 February aside.
Fast forward a couple of months and, with two fixtures remaining in the Championship season, Swansea are 11th, only six points outside the play-off places and a whopping 14 clear of the relegation zone.
Sheehan's Swansea have been a tough nut to crack, keeping seven clean sheets, but have had enough attacking success to win seven of the Irishman's games while losing only two.
As a result, Sheehan has the fans singing his name and various players backing him for the job in media interviews.
For the moment, however, there has been no word from the club's hierarchy – whether that be their American owners or director of football Richard Montague – over whether Sheehan has done enough to be offered a long-term contract.
As it stands, therefore, Sheehan's stint in charge will be over in a couple of weeks' time.
It is no secret that the club have been talking to other managerial candidates, with numerous names at home and abroad thought to have been considered since Williams said his goodbyes.
But given the team's spectacular form, it would be a major call should Swansea's decision-makers – all of whom, it should be remembered, are fairly new to their roles – decide to look elsewhere.