Sheehan hopes for better after learning lessons at Saints

Alan Sheehan is heading back to the club where he spent "half an hour" on the coaching staff hoping Swansea City will put up a better fight than on their previous league visit to Southampton.

Swansea return to action after the international break with a lunchtime kick-off at St Mary's on Saturday.

For Sheehan, the fixture means a reunion with former employers.

The Swansea boss spent three months as Southampton's first-team coach during Nathan Jones' brief stint in charge of Saints in the 2022-23 Premier League season.

And while his spell at Southampton was short, Sheehan says it taught him plenty.

"I took so much learning out of it, going into a football club in the Premier League and understanding what you need to do and what you have to do," he said.

"Obviously the level of the league was incredibly high. It was a very short period, but it's something and somewhere that I took a lot of learning from."

Sheehan is preparing to return to Southampton as a full-time head coach for the first time having led Swansea on their most recent league trip there.

That came in December 2023, when Sheehan was in caretaker charge following the departure of Michael Duff.

The Swans' form during Sheehan's seven-game spell at the helm was encouraging for the most part, but they were demolished 5-0 by a Southampton side who were en route to promotion to the Premier League under Russell Martin.

Sheehan regards that defeat as another useful lesson in his career.

"I think sometimes you take more from the losses than the wins," Sheehan said.

"Nobody wants to win more than me and you've got to be able to win in different ways.

"But with the losses you need to learn why and, when they're convincing losses, there are obviously reasons behind it."

Swansea were also well beaten on their most recent trip to Southampton, as Luke Williams' team went down 3-0 against their then Premier League hosts in the FA Cup third round last January.

Having been relegated last season, Southampton have made a slow start to this campaign.

Boss Will Still has seen his new side win two and draw five of their nine league games so far in 2025-26.

"I think it's another team with a new manager transitioning into a way they want to play," Sheehan said.

"We've had Leicester [before the international break] and we have Southampton, Ipswich and Manchester City in this block coming up, so four teams that were in the Premier League last year.

"It's definitely not a game to underestimate. Southampton are a difficult team with individuals that are highly capable for the level."