Swansea City Greatest Games by Chris Carra

Nathan Wood, a £400,000 signing from Middlesbrough, was a major success in his first season playing regular Championship football, with Martin already fearing that he will follow Flynn Downes - who left Swansea for West Ham last summer - to the Premier League. The left-sided defender would be a major loss having been named player of the year by Swansea's fans. Ryan Manning is an even more pressing issue as his deal expires this summer. Joel Piroe has scored 44 goals in two seasons at Swansea The problem for Swansea is that there is only a year left on his contract. The Dutchman's form dipped at times, but his contribution has been huge since he arrived from PSV Eindhoven two years ago. Martin's unwavering commitment to a possession game brought 68 league strikes, 19 of which were scored by Joel Piroe. Only three teams - champions Burnley, runners-up Sheffield United and Middlesbrough, who are in the play-offs - scored more Championship goals than Swansea this season.

Ultimately, their lengthy post-World Cup struggle - which included a miserable January transfer window - put paid to any hope of a return to the Premier League in May. His team proved in spells that they could compete in the Championship, but it was either boom or bust for Swansea during a season of sharp contrasts. Yet despite that progress, there is a feeling of frustration for Martin. In 2021-22, they were 14 points adrift of sixth. They came up only three points short of the play-off positions.

Swansea City Greatest Games by Chris Carra