Championship manager sacked after defeats to Stoke City, Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry City

Swansea City have sacked head coach Luke Williams after a run of seven defeats in nine Championship games that has left the Welsh outfit 17th in the table with 13 games remaining of the 2024-25 season.

The Swans lost 3-1 at Stoke City on Saturday afternoon. In their previous two home games they had lost 1-0 at to Sheffield Wednesday and 2-0 against Coventry City. A 1-0 victory at Bristol City was sandwiched in-between the home losses.

Assistant head coach Alan Sheehan has been appointed on an interim basis as Swansea prepare for Saturday’s visit of Blackburn Rovers, who are also without a manager after John Eustace departed for Derby County.

Swansea City chairman statement

On the decision to part ways with Williams, Swansea chairman Andy Coleman said: “This was a difficult decision and one that has not been taken lightly. Luke has led the club through some challenging periods and we appreciate his hard work. I am aware of the effort he and his staff have put in throughout the last 13 months for Swansea City. I want to personally thank Luke, Ryan and George for their dedication and the sacrifices they have made on behalf of the club.

“Unfortunately, since the turn of the year our performances and results have not been of the standard required at this level. Ultimately, that has led us to conclude a change is required in order to bring about an improvement in our showings on the pitch. We will keep supporters informed of developments when we are in a position to announce a new head coach, while Alan, his staff and our squad focus on our upcoming fixtures.”

Williams final comments as Swansea boss

After Saturday’s loss to Stoke City, Williams expressed his disappointment with the result. Josh Tymon put the Swans ahead just after the hour mark but Wouter Burger hit back just three minutes later for Stoke with Bae Jun-ho putting the hosts in front soon after. Lewis Baker wrapped the points up for the Potters with a third goal in the third minute of stoppage.

“It’s incredibly disappointing,” said Williams on Saturday. “It was a decent performance up until we took the lead. When you take the lead that late in the game, it’s incredible to think we have conceded three goals from that point. We conceded free-kicks we did not need to give away, and then we cannot defend simple balls into our box.

“We are going to need people to show leadership on the pitch if we want to make sure we get things moving in the right direction. We can perform well enough in games to score the first goal quite often, but we need to be tougher and take responsibility. We are still eight points clear of the danger zone but we have wasted so many opportunities since the turn of the year. I know there is enough quality in the dressing room. We have players who are good professionals. We just need a bit more of that leadership and responsibility on the pitch.”

In other Championship news, Leeds boss Daniel Farke said the manner of his side’s victory over promotion rivals Sunderland was “the best you can have in football”.