IMPROVED EFFORT BUT HEAT STILL ON GUIDOLIN

SWANSEA CITY 1 Fer 8 LIVERPOOL 2 Firmino 55, Milner 83 (pen)

FRANCESCO GUIDOLIN might not be able to buy a win right now, but the bigger issue is whether another performance without any points has bought him time.

The Swansea City manager had accepted his fears that defeat to Liverpool would lead to the end of his time at the Liberty.

Defeat ultimately came courtesy of a late penalty from James Milner, but it did so against the backdrop of another display that could not be overly criticised.

Indeed, the first half was a throwback to the high-tempo, high-pressing, high-in-belief Swansea that has made their current position so unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

Yet if concerns first grew because of performances, results are quickly becoming more important for Swansea, and in turn Guidolin.

As they succumbed to a Liverpool turnaround and legs and perhaps pressure weighed heavily on the shoulders, so came a fifth defeat of the campaign from the opening seven games.

And, regardless of sympathetic thoughts to the Swans boss, the position they are in, with just one win and three defeats from three at home, is not one that bodes well.

Plus, while much has been made by a run of fixtures that no-one would argue against being difficult, things are not about to become any easier. Watford at home is no guaranteed win, the visit of the Hornets coming after a trip to Arsenal following the international break. After that, Stoke away and Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United at home mean the challenge does not become any less daunting.

What Guidolin is clinging to is that things are improving, accepting that had Swansea offered up such signs of encouragement earlier in the season then neither he nor the team would be in the predicaments they are.

Had Swansea played like this against Hull then the points gained would not look as worrying as it does. Had Swansea played like this against Southampton rather than the confused mess that was offered up, then the boardroom inquest into whether a decision needs to be made on the Italian’s future would probably not be on any agenda.

Guidolin claimed he is still in the dark about his situation, but has been in the game too long to be that naive.

And while not many could argue that this result was on the harsh side, so are the realities when it comes to modern-day football.

Lack of points inevitably leads to loss of manager sooner or later.

The question Swansea’s decisionmakers face is whether Guidolin has what it takes to turn promising signs into significant form.

Both Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien were in attendance at the Liberty Stadium and undoubtedly the matter would have been discussed at the monthly board meeting.

Whether what was said in that room has been affected either way by what was seen in this lunchtime tussle, only those present will be able to answer.

Yet it is difficult not to think that if there was uncertainty on whether to act now or not, the picture must surely be even muddier following it.

Because many of the alarm-ringing signs of struggle so concerning not so long ago have been addressed.

If at Southampton Swansea players looked like strangers and increasingly frustrated at unclear instructions, here they played as a determined unit. If the press had been non-existent, here it was effective and threatened to beat Liverpool at their own game.

And if there was a lack of leadership, yesterday Swansea found plenty ready to put their body on the line and work together to gain the win that could have made the table and the coming weeks appear a lot nicer.

It led to their early opener through Leroy Fer, Swansea smarter and sharper than Liverpool with Leon Britton setting the tone and Gylfi Sigurdsson showcasing his talent.

It was Britton breaking up play and a Sigurdsson surge that saw Borja Baston win the corner that provided the eighth-minute breakthrough, the Spaniard peeling towards the back post and his header touched on by Mike van der Hoorn and then poked home by Fer.

Borja may have had one earlier and should have had one after, heading over and wide, before Wayne Routledge inexplicably tried to pass when a shot was on following a superb move from defence to attack.

The worry was that it would cost, and so it did. Swansea tired and for all the good work of van der Hoorn and a revitalised Jordi Amat, the leveller came when Angel Rangel played Roberto Firmino onside as he went to meet Jordan Henderson’s second attempt to deliver a freekick.

The red tide was turned, Guidolin making changes as the midfield faded and became overran.

Modou Barrow, one such change, hashed a clearance, Rangel panicked and Firmino tumbled to allow Milner to satisfy manager Jurgen Klopp.

The German had been furious and, while paid credit to Swansea, knew his players had not been at it. With the half-time rocket, they provided questions Swansea and Guidolin simply could not answer.

The question for Huw Jenkins and the American owners is now whether the signs were enough to stick with a manager who cannot buy a win.