Alan Tate speaks out on Swansea City’s managerial situation with Steve Cooper replacement yet to be found | OneFootball

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Football League World

·29 July 2021

Alan Tate speaks out on Swansea City’s managerial situation with Steve Cooper replacement yet to be found

Article image:Alan Tate speaks out on Swansea City’s managerial situation with Steve Cooper replacement yet to be found

Swansea City caretaker manager Alan Tate has said the sooner a permanent successor for Steve Cooper comes in the better in an interview with Wales Online, with the new season just over a week away.

Swans legend Tate has currently taken temporary charge of the Championship outfit during the latter stages of their pre-season period, as he attempts to stabilise the ship in Wales with the current squad left reeling from this summer’s events.


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Cooper has not been the only high-profile departure from the Liberty Stadium in recent months. Star striker Andre Ayew also moved on this month on the expiration of his contract and after scoring 17 goals in the second tier last season, leaving the club without the funds to bring in a sufficient replacement for the Ghanaian.

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The bad news hasn’t ended there either. Captain Matt Grimes is currently subject of high interest from the Premier League and Championship, with AFC Bournemouth, Fulham, Southampton, Newcastle United, Watford and Brighton & Hove Albion all reported to be monitoring the 26-year-old.

As per the Daily Mail, the midfielder was due to have a medical at Craven Cottage this week but with Watford and Brighton entering the race this week, it’s unclear whether this move will still go ahead and Wales Online journalist Tom Coleman even went as far as saying a bid had yet to be tabled for the Swans’ skipper.

This could make a quick appointment vital as they look set to have just one month to persuade key squad members to remain in the Welsh city, identify targets, sell players he deems surplus to requirements and implement his philosophy.

Alan Tate has set the ideal deadline for the new appointment to be made by and speaking to Wales Online about the current situation, he said: “The sooner (we appoint a new manager) the better, however that’s going to play out.

“One thing we do need, we need someone in full charge before Blackburn. Probably before that, the build-up to Blackburn.

“Julian (Winter; chairman) and the owners are best placed to decide that. Until I’m told otherwise, I’ll plan to take the team on Saturday.”

The Championship side have already been ‘reluctantly’ rejected by top target John Eustace, who previously looked destined to arrive at the Liberty Stadium after being given permission by Queens Park Rangers to speak to them about their managerial post.

However, they also seem to have other managers on their shortlist including Jody Morris, who was Frank Lampard’s former assistant at Chelsea and Russell Martin, who is currently in charge of MK Dons.

Football League World understands former England captain John Terry is another name in the frame to become Steve Cooper’s successor, with the 40-year-old recently leaving Aston Villa’s coaching team.

Verdict:

Most people will be in full agreement with Alan Tate here because with just over seven days until the new season and the current state the club is in with the departure of Andre Ayew, the new man will need as much time as possible to make this squad competitive again.

What Swansea ideally needed was a settled summer after their play-off final loss to Brentford in May, but as soon as rumours regarding Cooper’s possible move to Fulham and Crystal Palace emerged, it was clear the summer was going to be bumpy.

Perhaps this current situation is even worse than they expected, but the Swansea board are currently stuck in an impossible situation.

Ideally, they would want at least a few weeks to analyse potential candidates and from there, appoint the right man to take them forward. Fellow second-tier sides Sheffield United and West Brom have benefitted from this by making impressive appointments in Slavisa Jokanovic and Valerien Ismael.

But at this stage with their opening league fixture against Blackburn Rovers coming down the tracks, they would ideally want someone in within the next few days at the very latest.

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