Swansea boss Vitor Matos not concerned over interest in striker Zan Vipotnik

Swansea head coach Vitor Matos insists he is not concerned that Zan Vipotnik’s goal power could make him a transfer target for other clubs.

Vipotnik scored twice to take his tally to 16 for the season for club and country with the Slovenian having moved to the top of the Championship scoring charts with 13 league goals.

Coupled with an own goal from Connor O’Riordan, Vipotnik’s brace gave Swansea their fifth home win in six matches to move them up to 15th in the table, seven points off the play-off places.

But Blackburn’s defeat – which came after they drew level at 1-1 through Mathias Jorgensen – means it is just one win in 13 matches for their manager Valerien Ismael.

The Frenchman has seen his team fail to win in six league games – seven including an FA Cup defeat – and they are above the relegation zone only on goal difference.

In contrast, Matos has managed to steer Swansea away from the relegation zone since he arrived in November, in part due to Vipotnik’s goals.

West Ham were reportedly keen on Vipotnik at the start of the January transfer window and asked about rising interest in the player, Matos said: “That is always a good sign when you have that.

“So, let’s see what happens in the market. At the moment, we are focused on what we have in terms of the club, We don’t need to think about the ifs, but what we need is to focus on what we need to improve.

“It’s always about the market, about expectations of the player, about a lot of things that come into finding common ground, and then everyone can have the best decision.

“You are always open to the market and you never know what can happen.”

Discussion

For Ismael, the defeat will increase scrutiny on his position with just one victory achieved since November.

But he insisted he can turn things around, once he gets over a dozen currently injured players fit.

“We need to get our players back, to fight with our best player, and then the picture looks completely different,” said Ismael.

“We have 13 players who are injured. I can’t change anything. So this is the problem.

“This is something we need to understand. We have to stick together, to stay calm, because we need the players to be able to come back.

“If the players were here, and we’re playing with the best 11, and we are not getting results, then it’s another discussion we will have. But this (the injuries) is a big problem.”

But Ismael also admitted Blackburn’s defending should have been better.

He added: “I think that for the game today, the three goals are avoidable.

“It’s two set pieces, and the second one, especially, the clearance has to be much, much better. That’s why we lost the game today.”