Swansea are nearer now to leaving the hospital – Carvalhal

Carlos Carvalhal believes Swansea City are “nearer now to leaving hospital” after they moved out of the Premier League relegation zone thanks to a 3-1 win over Arsenal.

Sam Clucas scored twice while Jordan Ayew capitalised on a Petr Cech error to find the net as the Swans – who had started Tuesday’s fixture bottom of the table – continued their turnaround under the Portuguese manager.

Having now recorded back-to-back league wins over top-four contenders Liverpool and Arsenal, the Welsh club sit outside the bottom three on goal difference.

But while Carvalhal has picked up 10 points since taking over from Paul Clement, breathing much-needed life back into Swansea’s season, he insists there is still a long way to go in the battle to maintain their top-flight status.

“When I arrived,100 per cent of people asked would’ve said that the team were relegated,” Carvalhal told Sky Sports.

“Then, when we beat Watford, maybe two would’ve said that these guys are not dead, that maybe they are still breathing.

“After we beat Liverpool, I said maybe now 20 would say in this moment that we were doing something. Now, maybe 30 or 40 out of 100 would consider we have a chance.

“We’re happy with what we’ve achieved so far, but this is just the beginning. We have a long, long run to go in this season and we are still not in a good position.

“I said last time we were not in intensive care but in hospital receiving visits. We are nearer now to leaving the hospital – we are not too far away from the doctor letting us go home.”

5 – Carlos Carvalhal is just the fifth manager to win his first two matches against Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in all competitions (also Alex Ferguson, Luis Enrique, John Gregory and Roy Evans). Eclectic.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 30, 2018

Carvalhal felt the hosts were full value for their victory over an Arsenal team that dominated possession but struggled to create chances at the Liberty Stadium.

“We prepared a strategy to block them, we knew they would have more of the ball. But I talked to my players and we realised this was a game where we could have more opportunities than in the past,” he added.

“I believe that during the 96 or so minutes, the team with more ball possession was Arsenal, but we created more chances than them. It was a game we expected – we did fantastic work again”

7 – Jordan Ayew has been involved in more Premier League goals for Swansea than any other player this season (5 goals, 2 assists), with all seven of his goal involvements coming in the second half. Gift.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 30, 2018