VETERAN DAN STILL MAKING EWOOD SPARK
Swans run ‘terrible’ but Leroy’s backing kids to turn it around
REF:
Wilson Tomori
ATT: CAPTAIN Leroy Fer rates Swansea’s current run as “terrible” – but wants the club to stick with their youngsters next month.
The Welsh club are mired in their worst form since relegation from the Premier League, having lost three games in a row.
They had been hot on the heels of the play-off pack before this dip, and they have suddenly slipped into the bottom half.
Midfielder Fer, who has 11 Holland caps, is one of the experienced players who stayed after the drop, with many seniors having been culled while youth has been promoted.
Derby were far superior to Swansea, whose two previous outings ended in home defeats to Norwich, 4-1, and then West Brom, 2-1. Fer said: “It was a terrible week for us, but we have to keep our heads together and bounce back.
“The first one of this losing run, against Norwich, wasn’t our game. In the second one, I thought we played good. Here, we didn’t really play to our ability. It was a bit slow. “We’re a young, inexperienced team with a couple of experienced players. “If you want to build something then you are going to make mistakes, especially with a young team. And if you want to build, you don’t need someone new to come in. But we know we have to get better.”
Fer, 28, appeared regularly for Swansea in the Premier League over the last couple of seasons, but is seeing a very different squad in this campaign.
Eight of their starting lineup here were aged 23 or under and none of them were in their 30s.
Boss Graham Potter took a negative approach here – rather than trying to take on the Rams – and his rookies were punished by Frank Lampard’s promotion chasers.
Derby quickly seized the initiative and Harry Wilson, on loan from Liverpool, scored two stunners to put them 2-0 ahead, before Fikayo Tomori’s late own goal.
Rams midfielder Tom Lawrence, formerly of Cardiff, seemed to enjoy the occasion.
Lawrence is not surprised that his Wales team-mate Wilson is stepping up in style.
Asked if the youngster was a Premier League player in waiting, he replied: “Yes, definitely. There are a number of players I play with who make me think, ‘Yeah, we could play in the Premier League’. It’s good to be part of this team at the minute.” DERBY COUNTY: SWANSEA CITY: MOTM HARRY WILSON (DERBY) THERE was plenty to celebrate at Ewood Park, particularly for Danny Graham, who marked his 100th start for Blackburn with a clinical hat-trick.
It was the 33-year-old striker’s first treble in more than a decade, and came the day after Rovers boss Tony Mowbray agreed a new long-term contract.
“Of course I’m delighted to get a hat-trick at long last,” said Graham (above) after the win over Sheffield Wednesday which followed two defeats and a draw in the three previous outings. “On the back of the last few results we’ve had, it made it extra special.
“The lads came out and stood up like men. We defended well and were clinical when we broke. We need to be like that every week. We can look forward to what’s going to be a tough December.”
Graham opened the scoring by latching onto a rebound and Bradley Dack made it 2-0 from his team-mate’s cross.
Lucas Joao replied for Wednesday by firing home from 30 yards, but Graham pounced for his second after a Dack shot struck a post.
Rovers keeper David Raya fumbled in a Barry Bannan effort to give the Owls hope, but Graham had the final word by converting another Dack tee-up.
Mowbray said: “I’d love to have had Danny when he was 25. Even now at this stage of his career I believe he’s still one of the best finishers in the game.”
Owls fans called for the head of boss Jos Luhukay after a sixth defeat in eight games. He said: “It’s simply not in my character to give up.”
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