O'Dea in dark about future as Matos arrival looms

Swansea City caretaker boss Darren O'Dea is a former Republic of Ireland international

Swansea City caretaker boss Darren O'Dea is in the dark about his future after an "unsettling" period at the club following the sacking of head coach Alan Sheehan.

The Swans are close to appointing Vitor Matos as Sheehan's successor, and the Maritimo boss was at Ashton Gate on Saturday to watch Swansea lose 3-0 to Bristol City in the Championship.

O'Dea only joined Swansea in May as Sheehan's assistant and could be moved on if Matos, as expected, brings his own coaching staff with him to south Wales.

"I have to be really clear and fair here that right from the top of the ownership to Tom Gorringe [Swansea chief executive] they have been as clear and as transparent as they possibly can be," said O'Dea.

"There are things they can tell me and things they can't because, ultimately, it's club business and it's private to them. I'm not part of the process, so therefore, I have to wait the way you guys need to wait.

"That makes your working environment clearly unsettled, but what I've had to do with the staff is make sure the players are looked after because ultimately that's the most important thing."

O'Dea took charge of Swansea for the first time at Bristol City, and the 3-0 loss could prove to be his only game at the helm with a home match against Blackburn Rovers coming up on Tuesday.

But the former Celtic defender and coach does not know whether he will be involved for that fixture, or any future game.

"No. I genuinely have walked out of the dressing room with the players directly to here [media interviews]," O'Dea said.

"The club have told me what they can, when they can, and I'm sure, once I leave here, I'll have an update on what tomorrow looks like.

"I've had to live for the last couple of weeks not knowing what the next two days bring. It's 24 hours at a time."

Former Liverpool elite development coach Matos emerged as Swansea's top target after they missed out on Kim Hellberg, who is poised to take over at Middlesbrough.

Matos, 37, has only been a head coach since taking over at Portuguese second-tier club Maritimo in June.

"Football moves on pretty quick and there's another game in a couple of days time so all my thoughts are with the players now to make sure they recover right," said O'Dea.

"There's definitely enough there to bring the club in the right direction. Now someone needs to lead that.

"The circumstances are difficult but, when you put perspective on it, working with these lads has been a pleasure."