Darren O’Dea sees a positive path ahead for Swansea’s incoming manager

Interim boss Darren O’Dea insisted there was a bright future for Swansea after incoming manager Vitor Matos watched an emphatic 3-0 defeat at Bristol City from the stands.

Skipper Rob Dickie headed Bristol City in front from Anis Mehmeti’s fourth-minute corner and Emil Riis doubled the advantage with a far-post volley from another Mehmeti cross on 31 minutes.

Substitute Yu Hirakawa broke clear to complete the scoring with a low right-footed shot on 82 minutes, leaving Swansea, with nothing to show for a committed performance.

Hours before kick-off Portuguese club Maritimo announced that head coach Matos was leaving them to take charge of the Swans following the departure of Alan Sheehan, but O’Dea was unaware of his presence at the game.

“I have just left the dressing room and my only thoughts are with the players, who gave everything today,” he said.

“There is a lot of talent in that dressing room and I am sure that whoever takes charge the future is bright.

“The players are a really good group and will be fine. Obviously, this has been a period which has been unsettling, but that’s what happens when big decisions are taken like the ones which have been made.

Asked if he knew whether he expected to be in charge for the next game against Derby on Tuesday, O’Dea added: “The club have told me what they will when they can and I’m sure when I leave here I will get an update on what tomorrow looks like.

“It needs new leadership and it seems that is pretty imminent. I have had to live for the last two weeks not knowing what the next couple of days will bring, but I know there is enough in the squad to set the club back in the right direction.”

An impressive Bristol City performance saw influential midfielder Jason Knight return from a lengthy injury lay-off as a second-half substitute and head coach Gerhard Struber could barely contain his enthusiasm.

“I am super happy, not only with the points, but the way we played and seeing players return after injury,” he said.

“Jason Knight is very important to us and we still have to manage his workload, but we also had Neto Borges back and Emil Riis fit to partner Sinclair Armstrong in attack.

“Playing two strikers worked well and means we have options in the way we line up, which will be very important as the season goes on.”

Crucial

Struber paid special tribute to the efforts of goalkeeper Radek Vitek, midfielder Mehmeti and forward Armstrong, who was denied a goal by a great save and a goal-line clearance.

“Radek is a wall for us,” the boss said. “Again he made saves at crucial times in what was a tough game for us.

“Anis has the potential to be a really outstanding player and I love working with him. And, while it is important for strikers to score goals, Sinclair can be very pleased with other parts of his game today.

“We didn’t know what mood Swansea’s players would be in during a time of changing manager. But we were aware of how talented their players are and I expected them to make things difficult for us, which they did.”