Obafemi absence purely down to form, says boss
SWANSEA City boss Russell Martin insists Michael Obafemi’s omission against Barnsley was down to form.
The 21-year-old was left out of the matchday squad for the impressive 2-0 win in South Yorkshire.
It was the second time in the space of three games that the Republic of Ireland forward missed out.
It had led to some fans speculating about the reasons why a player signed for a seven-figure fee just three months ago was suddenly missing out altogether.
But Martin insists that the decision is purely down to Obafemi taking longer to settle in south Wales than all involved would like.
Speaking after watching goals from Olivier Ntcham and Jamie Paterson sealed the points at Oakwell, Martin said of Obafemi: “He played 60 minutes for the under-23s on Monday.
“We need to get Michael into a place where he is mentally and physically feeling as though he can produce his best performance on the pitch.
“So this one is not about anything else. He’s a really great young man who has just taken a little bit of time to settle.
“We all need to help him with that. Me, the club and the players. We’re doing everything we can to help him settle.
“He’s training much better and much harder but when he comes on he can’t have the impact he wants for us and it’s affecting him and frustrating him.
“So in the Coventry game and against Blackpool, he can’t quite get up to the intensity of the game. So we have honest conversations about it and I’ve got no doubt he’ll be a really, really good player for us over a long period of time.
“Some guys take longer than other to settle. It’s a big change for him in his life.
“I think it’s really naive for people to think you just sign someone for a bit of money on a good contract and it just clicks.
“That just doesn’t happen. The patience and perseverance, I hope, from both of us will pay off eventually.”
The result in South Yorkshire saw the Swans move up to ninth and Martin was especially pleased with how his side kept their concentration on a night when they had plenty of the ball - 79 per cent in fact - but had to bide their time to make the breakthrough.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” he added.
“I thought it was a controlled, dominant performance.
“The level of detail and discipline, and to not get impatient and frustrated, pleased me.
“It was about sticking to the level of intensity throughout and we did that.”
Martin also dedicated the win to former Swansea manager Frank Burrows, with the team having heard of his death at the age of 77 prior to kick off.
“It was really important to mark Frank’s passing with a victory away from home,” Martin added.
Barnsley’s new boss Poya Asbaghi admitted that he would have fallen asleep in the first half if he had been a spectator at Oakwell, but also pointed out that providing entertainment will not be his first priority as he strives to steer the club away from trouble.
“In the first half, we were a wellorganised team and did not allow Swansea to create any big chances until the last minute of the first half,” the former Sweden Under-21s manager said.
“As a spectator, I would have fallen asleep, because it wasn’t a super fun game to watch, but our ambition was not to make it the most fun game we could.