Luke Williams' Swansea City side have a trait that may surprise Notts County: View | OneFootball

Swansea City have been solid at the back, a stark difference to Luke Williams' Notts County side in League Two

Swansea City have made a decent start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign, and while they may have problems scoring goals, they still find themselves in the top half of the division.

Swansea have scored just eight league goals in ten games, the joint second worst in the league, but Luke Williams' side still have a positive goal difference, and their lack of firepower up front is the only thing holding them back from a realistic play-off push.

In fairness to Williams, in home fixtures against the likes of Cardiff City, Bristol City and Stoke City, it's not been a lack down to a lack of chances, and in their recent 0-0 draw at home to the Potters they had 19 shots, so the Swansea boss can't be blamed for playing a brand of football which doesn't create chances.

However, it's Swansea's defence which has impressed this season, and after ten games they have one of the best defences in the league, which may well surprise a few people, Notts County supporters in particular.

Notts County may be surprised by Swansea City's defensive record

After ten Championship games, Swansea have conceded just six goals, and are yet to concede more than one goal in a game yet.

Of course, it's highly unlikely that they'll be able to go the entire season without conceding more than one goal in a game, but it highlights just how hard Swansea have worked on their defence over the summer, and they're far tougher to play against than when Williams first took over.

Swansea's record of six goals conceded is the third best in the division, with only Sheffield United (3) and Burnley (4) having better records. These are two sides who have just been relegated from the Premier League, so Williams deserves huge praise for having his side in the mix with teams like that.

It's a stark contrast to his Notts County side last season, and between the opening day of the season and the start of January 2024 when he left for Swansea, the Magpies actually had one of the worst defensive records in League Two.

Williams left a Notts County side that was in the play-off places, but they'd conceded 28 goals after 26 games, a record that was only beaten by Sutton United (34) and Swindon Town (33).

Results like a 4-3 win over Forest Green Rovers, a 5-4 defeat to Colchester United, a 5-1 defeat to Sutton United, and a 4-2 defeat to AFC Wimbledon showed that they could concede a number of goals in a game, and it may surprise some Magpies supporters to see Williams leading a Swansea side so good at the back.

Some Swansea fans had fears about Williams' potential defensive frailties, and when they went 5-0 down to Bournemouth before half-time just a couple of weeks into his reign, it certainly looked justified, but Williams has made Swansea hard to beat.

It's taken time, but the Swansea side that conceded 3 to Southampton, 4 to Leeds and 5 to Bournemouth early in Williams' tenure have completely evolved, and now boast one of the best defensive records in the league, a stat that not many people would have seen coming.

Swansea City have the foundations in place to challenge for the play-offs

Swansea are arguably the complete opposite to Williams' Notts County side, and while the Magpies conceded loads and scored loads, Swansea don't concede many but don't score many either.

It's about finding a balance for Williams, and while being solid at the back is hugely important, it can't come at the expense of being a threat going forward.

In fairness, this doesn't seem to be the case, and on another day Swansea could have been at least two goals up against Stoke by half-time, and you feel that if they can start scoring more often, their strong defence means that they'll challenge for the play-offs.

Williams knows his side need to score more goals, but he'll be quietly happy with how his side's defence is holding up, and you feel as if being solid at the back is the first step to being successful, and the rest comes later.

Swansea have a number of forwards in the form of Jisung Eom, Ronald and Zan Vipotnik who are new to the Championship, and with time to settle in, it's hoped that they could start contributing more when it comes to goals and assists.