Scary Potter lacks magic
GRAHAM POTTER seems about as mild-mannered as a manager can get – but even he looked as if this game got under his skin.
The Swans boss (below) saw his team held by a functional Forest and although the home side remain in the play-off places, Potter knows they lack the quality to keep pace with others for long.
Resilience and tenacity are their plus points, but without the impact of the injured Jefferson Montero to come off the bench, inspiration is in short supply.
Potter’s side now face two tough away trips and he warned they won’t be able to get away with another misfiring performance against Stoke or Middlesbrough.
He said: “The challenge for us is to improve our overall play, but we keep getting knock-backs which doesn’t help with consistency.
“We have 12 points and we know we need to get better heading into two really tough away fixtures.
“This was a great battling performance – qualities we have shown all season. We also had to reshuffle with injuries.
“The application has been great but we are honest enough to know we can improve. But you have to give credit to the opposition as well.”
Montero is out for a month with a thigh injury but with Bersant Celina and Jay Fulton both going off with knocks, the Liberty Stadium cupboard could soon look bare.
Ben Osborn had two clear-cut chances to put Forest in front in the opening exchanges.
He miscued his first effort well wide after being teed up by Saidy Janko, before his second was easily stopped by Swans goalkeeper Erwin Mulder.
Potter was forced into changes at the break. Joel Asoro and Kyle Naughton were both thrust into action for Celina and Futon.
The new-look Swans flew out of the blocks through Declan John, who surged down the left and found Yan Dhanda, but his fierce shot was palmed away by Costel Pantilimon.
Osborn’s nightmare continued with another glaring miss from eight yards out after the ball fell to him in acres of space.
Aitor Karanka’s men got their second wind though, and could have snatched it in the final 10 minutes.
Joao Carvalho lifted the ball over the defence for Lewis Grabban, but it would not sit up for the striker.
Gil Dias was then picked out on the edge of the box from an Osborn corner and sent a volley towards the bottom corner.
However, Mulder got his fingers to the ball to push it around the post as Swansea weathered the storm to pick up a point.
“We could have scored towards the end, but I felt if we made one mistake they could have scored,” said Forest boss Karanka.