Carvalhal axed by Sheff Wed
At 4am yesterday Carlos Carvalhal got up to make the five- hour drive from Sheffield to Swansea. It might take some time before he stops rubbing his eyes, such is the mess at the Premier League club he has joined.
that he was the manager chosen to carry out the clean-up operation at the team anchored to the bottom of the table, five points from escaping the relegation zone having won just three games all season, comes as a major surprise. After all, he was sacked by Sheffield Wednesday on Christmas Eve with his side 15th in the Championship.
But his appointment on a six-month deal is the culmination of a lengthy courtship, with the 52-year- old first monitored by Swansea when Garry Monk was axed in December 2015.
that might soothe some of the supporter scepticism, but equally the club’s initial preference was for a manager with recent Premier League experience and, indeed, Carvalhal wasn’t in the reckoning when Paul Clement was sacked on December 20.
Sources at the club were last night pointing to Carvalhal’s preference for possession football and his ability to garner quick turnarounds — Wednesday twice reached the Championship playoffs under the Portuguese coach after being a serial mid-table side prior to his arrival in 2015. But it remains a big gamble by the club, who intend to make significant funds available in January, though Carvalhal admitted yesterday that window finances had not come up in his discussions with chairman Huw Jenkins on Wednesday night.
He did insist, though, that England Under 21 central defender Alfie Mawson would not be for sale amid interest from West Ham. ‘I did not talk money with the chairman, it is my romantic side talking,’ said Carvalhal, who is taking charge of his 16th club across five countries.
‘I deal with footballers. If we need players I will try to choose them but the money is not what I want to talk about — I am allergic to money.
‘ they will be my choices, absolutely. I will see what players we have in mind, who we need and who the scouts of Swansea have seen.’
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s clash against Watford at Vicarage Road, the former Sporting and Besiktas manager added: ‘In this moment, maybe if you ask 100 people who follow football, they will say Swansea are going to get relegated. this is the general idea.
‘Maybe some people will say we need a miracle. But when things are in the hands of men, it’s not a miracle you need.
‘It’s in our hands and we can manage things. We don’t need divine help. We need strong commitment to move things forward.’