Luke Williams challenged his Swansea players to secure a top-half finish in the Sky Bet Championship following their 1-0 victory over Rotherham.
The Swans controlled proceedings against the already-relegated Millers, but needed an Andy Rinomhota own goal in the 74th minute to earn victory.
It ensured Swansea claimed back-to-back wins for only the second time under Williams, while they also kept successive clean sheets for the first time under the head coach following a 3-0 triumph over Stoke in midweek.
Williams – whose side sit five points adrift of the top 12 in the Championship with three matches left to play this season – wants Swansea to fight to secure a top-half berth.
“The players have got to show that they’ll continue to run hard and fight for everything and not try and take it easy,” he said.
“I need to see the character that they have. Whatever the circumstances, whatever the position, they’ll apply themselves, that’s a group I want.
“It’s when things get more complicated then you need to know you’ve got the right characters. I want to see that from everybody in the last three games, as a minimum.
“That’s (top-half aim) a good challenge. Let’s go and make really good performances, and see how many points we can pick up.”
On the long-term picture for Swansea, Williams added: “We’re nearly a good team. We have a really big summer and then we can do something exciting.
“I need to continue to try and find solutions for the team to help them be more creative. I need to get the balance right.
“Of course, we have to try to get the right personnel that are going to thrive. If we do all of that, we’re going to be alright.”
Meanwhile, Leam Richardson felt defeat in south Wales was “cruel” for his side after they appeared destined to secure only a second away league clean sheet this season until Rinomhota’s unfortunate own goal.
“It’s a cruel game at times,” said the Rotherham boss.
“The goal conceded, obviously it’s cruel because Andy’s been very good and he’s been committed.
“Coming from Wednesday night away at West Brom and then back on the coach again, travelling down to Swansea with a small number of players, it’s commendable.
“The lads who have made themselves available and put the work ethic in today. Credit to Swansea on the victory.
“We know where we are. We know which moment we are in and we know how we want to go forward with it. We want to put our best foot forward to return to this level and be a better version of ourselves.”
Aguero: City players must adopt Guardiola mentality to rediscover form
Manchester City all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero thinks that the players need to be more like manager Pep Guardiola if they are to continue their golden era.
Aguero's rallying cry came after City's fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions on Saturday, the first time Guardiola has gone this long without a victory in his career.
The Citizens have lost four straight games for the first time since August 2006, when Stuart Pearce was manager of the club and are 11 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League.
But despite their recent run, the Argentine, who 260 times in 390 appearances for City, is confident that his former side can finish the season with more silverware.
"I think City are favourites to win everything, including the league, the [FA] Cup, the Club World Cup and the Champions League," he told Sky Sports News.
"Whatever City has to play for, they'll be the firm favourites. I think it all depends on the mentality they have because it's not easy to always be the favourites."
Last season, City became the first team in history to win four consecutive Premier League titles but, with their form taking a dip and Guardiola out of contract at the end of the season, there is the potential for instability at the Etihad.
But, according to Aguero, their manager is the key to their past and future success.
That frame of mind is understandable, given that Guardiola is the most successful Manchester City manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies – 50% of the major honours in the club's history – with a win percentage of 72%.
"I think City are where they are because Guardiola knows very well how to keep that mentality," Aguero said.
"For me, he's the key man for the club so that the players have the same winning mentality.
"Sometimes it gets difficult to win and it's normal, but Pep's team has been up there since he took charge, and that's something many people don't see.
"I think we have to acknowledge he's the reason his players have a winning mentality. He's strict and he makes the team be consistent every single game throughout the season.
"We should take our hats off because it's not easy to be there with the players every day, especially considering the players we're talking about.
"All the time, he's like, 'come on, we have to keep winning!' Living that every day can get exhausting sooner or later, but he's been doing this for days, months, even years, and I think that's why City are one of the favourites because Pep never rests and he never gives a rest to his players.
"That, for me, is the key to success for any team."
Malacia makes Man Utd comeback after 17 months out
Tyrell Malacia made his injury comeback after a 17-month spell on the sidelines, returning for Manchester United Under-21s against Huddersfield in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.
The Netherlands international has not played since coming off the bench for his country against Croatia in the Nations League semi-final in June 2023.
Since that game, Malacia has had knee surgery twice in an attempt to solve an injury that had proved difficult to manage.
The 25-year-old made 39 appearances in all competitions for United after signing in the 2022-23 season, but has not featured for the first team since.
He played for 45 minutes in Huddersfield and was taken off at half-time, although it was a quiet night for him and he rarely got on the ball.
Malacia's return to competitive action coincided with the day that new head coach Ruben Amorim met some of United's senior players at the training ground.
Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer were all among the players he saw while doing their individual injury rehab.
Malacia makes injury comeback for Under-21s after 17 months out
Tyrell Malacia made his injury comeback after a 17-month spell on the sidelines, returning for Manchester United Under-21s against Huddersfield in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.
The Netherlands international has not played since coming off the bench for his country against Croatia in the Nations League semi-final in June 2023.
Since that game, Malacia has had knee surgery twice in an attempt to solve an injury that had proved difficult to manage.
The 25-year-old made 39 appearances in all competitions for United after signing in the 2022-23 season, but has not featured for the first team since.
He played for 45 minutes in Huddersfield and was taken off at half-time, although it was a quiet night for him and he rarely got on the ball.
Malacia's return to competitive action coincided with the day that new head coach Ruben Amorim met some of United's senior players at the training ground.
Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer were all among the players he saw while doing their individual injury rehab.
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