Swansea manager Alan Sheehan urged his players to take confidence from a first home win since October as they edged a late 2-1 Championship victory at home to Preston.

Jamie Paterson completed his brace in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage-time to end Swansea’s run of seven home games without a win and deny North End a valuable away point after Liam Millar cancelled out Paterson’s opener.

As a result, Swansea – who have yet to appoint a permanent successor to Michael Duff – climbed four places to 15th in the table, while interim manager Sheehan has now taken seven points from five games in charge.

“We’re delighted with the win. We haven’t been good enough at home or got enough points but after the playing well and losing against Middlesbrough last time out, tonight was just about doing enough to win the game,” said Sheehan.

“We weren’t fluent with our performance by any stretch. We tried to play it through, looking for the perfect goal but it broke down each time.

“Preston are physical and try to ram it down your throat which we have to deal with. They came to make it hard for us and sometimes you’ve just got to grind it out and two moments of absolute quality from Jamie Paterson won us the game.

“We need to build confidence, resilience and a desire to win from this. When you win and have things to work on then that’s good. It wasn’t pretty but we got the job done and took a valuable three points.”

Preston continued their dramatic slide in form and slipped to ninth, with just one win from their last seven games.

They at least looked to have taken a point from their travels after substitute Millar cancelled out Paterson’s opener with a well-taken curling effort.

However Alistair McCann gave away possession inside his own half to gift Paterson the late winner.

Preston manager Ryan Lowe said: “I’m disappointed and gutted that we just couldn’t see it through to get what would have been a good point.

“I thought we were well worthy of the draw. It was a battling performance, nothing amazing and we dug in.

“We knew Swansea would dominate possession because that’s what they do but we handled their pressure well for long periods but individual errors have cost us.

“We played sideways instead of forwards for the second and left the man unmarked in the box for the first.

“It was disappointing because we had got ourselves right back in the game with a great goal and I felt we were in the ascendency.

“The players have character and effort but there were two lapses of concentration for the goals.

“I have to take responsibility as the manager, I know that and I have to lift myself first because I feel that I’m letting people down and I don’t like doing that.

“We could do with a bit of luck and to get that we need to keep working hard and digging in.”

Michael Duff hailed Swansea’s “well earned” 1-0 win at Blackburn that gave them a first victory at Ewood Park in 52 years.

The Swans, who came into the game having suffered back-to-back defeats, ended their hoodoo through Liam Cullen’s fine 28th-minute curling strike, capping an outstanding month for the forward who won his first Welsh cap earlier in October.

Swansea had to show all sides of their character, creating chances when in the ascendency and digging in defensively at the start and end of the encounter when they were under severe pressure.

The win was particularly satisfying for former Burnley defender Duff, whose Swansea team have won five of their last seven games, and he was pleased with how his side responded to Blackburn’s start.

He said: “I think they started the game well. No getting away from that. The first five to 10 minutes they started really well, so we tweaked a couple of things in the press and I think for the next 50-55 minutes, we dominated the game.

“Thought we played out, played through them. Probably should have been 2-0 or 3-0 up at that point.

“We’ve had a goal disallowed which is offside, we’ve had another goal disallowed which is onside.

“Then, it’s human element. The lads are probably thinking the game should be out of sight now and it’s not, and they’re a good team.

“It was a case of trying to do the other side of the game well, whilst trying to pick them off on the counter attack.

“People put their bodies on their line, defended, made blocks when they had to. For all their opportunities, Carl (Rushworth) has not really made a brilliant save.

“It definitely wasn’t comfortable but it was a well-earned win in the end.”

Blackburn, who have lost three of their last four home league games, saw Callum Brittain and Harry Leonard miss glorious opportunities.

Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson said: “One of those days. We are of course extremely disappointed.

“We actually began the game really well and why we were not in front in first minute, we still don’t know it.

“I think we started really well, the first 20-25 minutes. After that, defensively there was a bit of distance in the team which was not good enough. We were sloppy sometimes on the ball.

“In the second half, I think we were the better team, creating plenty of chances and good moments to win the game.

“But (it was) one of those days when we are not scoring.

“We shouldn’t forget this young team have won three games on the bounce. There will be those days as well, we all know that. But of course, disappointed with the result.

“I think Swansea are really good at killing the game, killing the time as well. Every free-kick, every time the ball went out, it took ages. They did it really well and it’s difficult to get momentum.”

Swansea boss Michael Duff praised his side following the 3-1 victory at Plymouth which made it four Championship wins on the spin.

Josh Key’s 90th-minute breakaway goal capped a superb Swans comeback after Luke Cundle had fired Plymouth into an 18th-minute lead.

Jerry Yates restored parity and then sub Ollie Cooper scored with a brilliant long-range strike within a minute of his 67th-minute introduction.

Duff said: “We were good, it was a good game. The thing that probably got us over the line is that we were slightly better in both boxes.

“I enjoy every win, trust me, and I felt we were good value for the three points. They put three on Blackburn down here and six on Norwich, so it is a tough place to come.

“We played on Wednesday and have had two away games this week so to get a nine-point week was really pleasing. We stayed calm at half-time, there was no panic.

“Some of the blocks were brilliant, some of the defending was really good. We talked about being good in both boxes and that is where we win the game ultimately.

“We gave ourselves the opportunity to get back in the game and scored three good goals.

“It was nice when the third goal goes in, it is like a home game then. That’s why we took some extra time with the travelling fans at the end because they have done the same journeys as us.

“We travelled six hours last week and four yesterday and moments like that are really important, we will have a few days off now and then we are in.

“Football doesn’t owe you anything, we have got a tough one next and we will be plan for that. Enjoy this one, it has been a good away day.

“It was end to end, two teams going for it trying to play the right way.”

Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher was in philosophical mood after the game.

He said: “I thought it was quite an even game and we were probably the better team in the first half.

“They might have edged it second half although even when they went ahead we responded quite well and got into some brilliant areas.

“We had a big chance at 2-1 down, the game could have been two-all and the game’s different.

“Then the game could have gone either way because with our crowd behind us in the last 15 minutes who knows?

“Can’t fault the lads’ effort again. Some of the play to get up to the final third and into the box was excellent. We have just got to be better in both boxes.

“Once you throw everybody forward you are always open to the counter attack and once again they were clinical and took it.

“It’s always small margins and we probably should have been more than 1-0 ahead at half-time.

“We had a couple of big chances in the first half that if we score and get a two-goal cushion it gives us something to hang onto.

“All I can ask is that the lads keep showing the same character but a bit more quality.”

Swansea boss Michael Duff hailed his side’s 3-0 Championship win over Millwall as the best of his tenure as they secured a commanding victory at the Den.

Jamaican International Jamal Lowe opened the scoring with a penalty before goals from Matt Grimes and Mykola Kukharevych sealed the triumph, Duff’s third in charge since taking over in June.

The visitors won their second Championship game in a row having taken only two points from a possible 21 from their previous seven matches.

“It’s probably the best result of my Swansea tenure so far,” Duff said. “3-0 away from home at a tough place to come.

“I thought we saw a bit more of what we wanted to look like. It was some really good football. The reaction’s been good ever since the Cardiff game, where we let everyone down.

“We probably should have had three clean sheets and nine points since then. The players have stuck together through all of it.”

Swansea sparked to life in the 23rd minute when Lowe converted a penalty, awarded after Jerry Yates’ shirt was pulled by Jake Cooper in the box.

Lowe produced a stuttering run-up before sending Bartosz Bialkowski the wrong way to end the hosts’ hopes of a third-straight clean sheet and to notch his second goal in as many games.

Duff added: “The first goal was 40-plus passes going into the build-up to the penalty, which I think should have been a red card as well.

“I knew they would have a reaction. We had to change shape a couple of times, but we survived it. You’re not going to dominate a game for 90 minutes, not in the Championship – very rarely anyway.

“It’s still a long, long way from where we want to get it to.”

Grimes moved Swansea further ahead after 57 minutes, as some neat interplay offered an inviting opening for the skipper and his 20-yard strike squeezed under Bialkowski.

The Lions were unable to take their chances at 2-0 down with Carl Rushworth turning a long-distance strike from Ryan Leonard over the crossbar before the goalkeeper saved Kevin Nisbet’s point-blank effort with his face.

Kukharevych then made certain of the three points for the Swans with an 80th-minute header for a first away victory since April.

Millwall manager Gary Rowett took a different view of his side’s reaction to conceding, believing they showed frustration rather than fight.

He said: “Goals change moods, goals change feelings in stadiums and players’ confidence levels. It shouldn’t do, but that’s the way the game is.

“Sometimes at 0-0 you have to ride those little moments and the first goal was a really poor penalty to give away from where the ball was.

“We got into some decent positions without having a clinical edge. That was the difference.

“I didn’t like our reaction from 2-0 down. I think we have a habit of conceding goals and showing our frustration rather than fighting until the last second.

“Again we had some big moments, but without that goal it gives you nothing to lift the mood and atmosphere.

“It’s disappointing. The third goal summed it up, we gave it away, crossed it to a lad unmarked to head it in. It was certainly three poor goals from us to concede today.”

Michael Duff insisted there are “positive signs” for Swansea despite them not winning a league game since he took over as boss.

A 1-1 draw at QPR, who rescued a point with Lyndon Dykes’ stoppage-time header, continued a frustrating start to Duff’s reign.

They are third from bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table after seven matches.

Duff, who took over during the summer following Russell Martin’s departure for Southampton, said: “It’s frustrating for the players and for me but there were positive signs.

“In the first half-an-hour we were good and that’s how I want it to look. We need to build a foundation.

“I know it sounds silly, but the stats will tell you that teams are not playing through us and we’re creating chances. You have to start with that.

“We’ve had a couple of false dawns, but today we showed spirit and character and the shape was good.

“I’ve said to the players that if we can guarantee that shape, togetherness and spirit then we’ve got the foundations. It’s about sticking to the process.”

A win for the Swans would have been a much-needed boost following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat by arch-rivals Cardiff.

It would have also eased the pressure on Duff, who is already feeling the heat from frustrated fans.

“The Saturday game magnifies it because of who it is,” he said.

“We’ve explained to the players why it happened. We worked on things and then they do their own thing. That doesn’t work.

“But today we stuck to the task. That was a positive, but we’ve got to win games.”

QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth was not content with the result despite the late equaliser.

Ainsworth was convinced Josh Ginnelly’s early opener should not have stood and that his team deserved to win the game.

“No, I’m not happy. The Swansea goal is handball,” Ainsworth said.

“The referee missed it and the assessor has said they couldn’t see it without VAR – but his hand’s out.

“The rub of the green’s going against us at the moment. We deserved more from that game.

“I will add, though, that we must hit the target more. We must work the opposition keeper more. We’re creating chances and we need to take them.

“Lyndon’s header was that moment of brilliance in a game where we should really score more goals.

“We’ve got to be better at getting on the end of things. But we are creating chances and that’s a good thing.

“At the final whistle you saw seven or eight boys just collapse on the floor because they’ve emptied the tank again.

“Disappointed we didn’t get more out of tonight, but it would have been an absolute travesty had we not got that point.

“We’re creating plenty of chances but we’ve got to start finishing them off now.”

Bristol City fought back to register a deserved 2-1 Sky Bet Championship victory in the Swansea sunshine.

Liam Cullen’s first goal of the season gave Michael Duff hope that he would be celebrating his maiden league win as Swansea manager.

But Bristol City created a host of chances and had three goals disallowed before being ultimately rewarded by second-half strikes from Mark Sykes and Sam Bell.

Swansea had a frantic deadline day on Friday signing four players – Bashir Humphreys, Josh Tymon, Jamal Lowe and Kristian Pedersen.

But none of the quartet were available to take on opponents who gave a full debut to Taylor Gardner-Hickman following his loan from West Brom.

Sykes had the ball in the net early on but the Bristol City winger had strayed into an offside position.

Swansea struck after 10 minutes as Charlie Patino split the Robins’ defence with a delightful threaded pass and Cullen finished left-footed with some aplomb.

The goal failed to settle Swansea, who have won just once this season in the Carabao Cup, as Bristol City dominated first-half proceedings from that point.

Jason Knight curled over, Sykes had a shot blocked and Wells sidefooted straight at Carl Rushworth in the home goal after his exchange with Bell had cut Swansea open.

The Robins’ chances kept coming as Matt Grimes cleared Knight’s effort off the goal-line, Wells fired over from 20 yards after dispossessing Nathan Wood, and Bell’s goal celebrations were curtailed by an eagle-eyed assistant referee.

Patino skewed wide as Swansea enjoyed brief respite, but there was a controversial end to the first half as Naughton sliced down Wells with the striker en route to goal.

Ben Cabango was just about covering Naughton so referee Oliver Langford deemed the offence worthy of a yellow card rather than red.

Bristol City had the ball in the net for a third time from the resulting free-kick, but Knight was guilty of a push and the visitors’ growing frustration was evident as Kal Naismith was booked for dissent.

Duff changed the Swansea system at half-time and went from five to four at the back, but the Robins were level within three minutes.

Joe Williams pounced on a home mistake to find Sykes and he galloped clear before cutting inside Wood and burying his shot beyond Rushworth.

Cullen had an instant opportunity to restore Swansea’s lead but his shot lacked the accuracy to beat Max O’Leary.

Sykes turned provider for Bristol City’s 59th-minute lead, muscling his way through some half-hearted tackling to deliver a cross Bell converted ruthlessly at the far post.

Swansea were inches away from an equaliser when Cabango headed against a post, but that would have been rough justice on visitors who have taken eight points from their opening five games.

Michael Duff has been named Swansea’s new manager on a three-year contract, the Sky Bet Championship club have announced.

The 45-year-old joins from Barnsley to replace Russell Martin, whose move to Southampton was confirmed on Wednesday, and has cost the Swans £500,000.

Duff emerged as the Swans’ first choice last weekend with the club having been interested in former assistant Chris Davies as well as Birmingham boss John Eustace.

“We need that one team mentality; the players, staff, fans, and board. Everyone needs to pull in the same direction because that’s the only way you’re going to achieve success,” Duff told Swansea’s official club website.

“I’ve had seven promotions in my career as a player and manager so I know what an environment should look and smell like.

“I want to play good football and I know that there is an expectation of that at this football club, but it’s about evolving it, moving it and being a bit more on the front foot and a bit more progressive at times.

“It’s about getting the balance of all those things because ultimately it’s a winning business. You’ve got to win.”

Former Burnley midfielder Duff spent just a year at Oakwell but guided them to the League One play-offs last season.

The Tykes lost 1-0 in the last minute of extra time to Sheffield Wednesday in the final at Wembley.

Duff spent four years as Cheltenham manager, winning League Two in 2021 – the club’s first league title in their history – before cementing the Robins’ place in League One and joining Barnsley last summer, finishing fourth.

Swansea finished 10th in the Championship last season under Martin.

Barnsley boss Michael Duff insists he never doubted his decision to take on the job last summer after relegation had left the club in disarray.

The Reds had just crashed into the third tier after winning only six Sky Bet Championship matches, but now stand on the brink of an immediate return.

They face local rivals Sheffield Wednesday in Monday’s League One play-off final, 11 months after Duff left Cheltenham to try and turn Barnsley’s fortunes around.

Disillusioned fans had lost count of the players who either departed or arrived at Oakwell following relegation and despite three defeats in their first five league games this season, Duff never had any regrets.

He said: “No because I back myself no matter what. I didn’t win a game for 10 games at Cheltenham and I didn’t doubt myself at that point.

“I learnt a lot, but I didn’t doubt myself. So a bit older, a bit wiser, a bit greyer, a lot fatter, but when I did my first interviews here and people asked where did I think we would finish, I never said anything.

“It wasn’t me being evasive, I just thought ‘we’ll see’. But I know I work hard, I believe in what I do and obviously now we’re in a shoot-out to get promoted.”

Duff led Cheltenham to League Two promotion and then 15th in League One, their highest English Football League finish, before replacing Poya Asbaghi in June to become Barnsley’s sixth manager in less than three years.

After an indifferent start, former Burnley defender Duff moulded a new-look team into automatic promotion contenders.

Barnsley halted Wednesday’s 23-game unbeaten league run in a thrilling 4-2 win at Oakwell in March to extend their own unbeaten streak to 12 matches.

That run included 10 wins and catapulted them into top-two contention, but Duff still publicly refused to set his side any targets.

“I think talk is cheap,” he said. “You can talk and talk about philosophy and all that sort of stuff. It’s nonsense in my opinion.

“It’s about can you get a group to work hard and stick together and find a way of playing and that’s what we’ve done as the season has gone on and we’ve proved to be good at it.”

Duff, whose side’s automatic promotion hopes were dashed in late April when they lost at home to Ipswich, said the players’ belief has grown steadily throughout the season.

“You get the players to set their own target, but how much they believed it I don’t know because sometimes they pay lip service,” he added.

“We’d just been relegated, what is the target? Is it the play-offs? The players almost feel they have to say, ‘yeah, we’ve got to get in the play-offs’, but I don’t know how much they believed it.

“But once you start working day-to-day with them, you break it down. The first 10 games we set a target of 16 points, because generally 1.6 points per game gets you in the play-offs.

“That was the group’s first target, to break it down. It’s those day-to-day, week-to-week habits.

“We’ve got to the point now where the players can look back and say, ‘we didn’t need to say that, but now we do believe’.

“Now, can they have that belief one more time?”

Barnsley head coach Michael Duff has expressed admiration for Sheffield Wednesday counterpart Darren Moore before Monday’s Sky Bet League One play-off final.

The pair go head-to-head at Wembley on Monday when the two South Yorkshire rivals clash in the third tier’s winner-takes-all season finale.

Barnsley edged past Bolton 1-0 on aggregate in their semi-final, while Wednesday overcame the biggest first-leg deficit in play-off history before beating Peterborough on penalties.

Moore silenced the Owls fans who had called for him to be sacked after his side’s 4-0 first-leg defeat appeared to have left them dead and buried and Duff paid tribute to his rival manager.

Duff said: “Darren deserves loads of credit because one thing he’s done the whole season, when weirdly there’s been a bit of noise about him when they got 96 points this season, is keep his counsel because he’s a good fella.

“First and foremost, he’s a good fella. He’s obviously a football man, he’s been around it a long, long time.

“I don’t know what he’s like as a manager in terms of day-to-day stuff, but you take people as you find them and we’ve beaten them twice and he’s been humble, he’s taken it.

“He says ‘fair play to you’ and shakes your hand. No excuses afterwards that some managers come out with. He said ‘better team won’ and I think that goes a long way just as a human being.”

Barnsley completed the league double over the Owls this season for the first time since 2009, winning 2-0 at Hillsborough in September and 4-2 at Oakwell in March.

But they finished 10 points adrift of their local rivals in the table, with the Owls’ 96-point tally more than any other side not to finish in the top two of any league in English football’s history.

That did not stop the vitriol that came Moore’s way after his side’s 4-0 semi-final first-leg defeat at Peterborough.

Some fans called for his head before the return leg, while Wednesday were forced to issue a statement condemning a racist message directed at Moore on social media.

“It shows you the emotional state people can get into,” Duff said. “Darren’s a good manager, full stop.

“Was he a terrible manager when they got beaten 4-0? No. And he’s become an even better manager now because of the belief he gave them.

“Things he said in interviews and in the dressing room, things he showed the players. Good management. He managed to get the best out of it.”

Barnsley finished fourth in the table, one place below Wednesday, and their 86-point haul would have been enough for automatic promotion in three of the last 10 seasons.

Barnsley head coach Michael Duff has challenged one of his players “to step up and be the hero” in their Sky Bet League play-off final against Sheffield Wednesday.

Wednesday will start as the bookmakers’ favourites for Monday’s Wembley showdown against their local rivals after overturning a 4-0 first-leg deficit in their thrilling semi-final win against Peterborough.

Barnsley finished fourth in the table, 10 points behind Wednesday, but backed up their 2-0 league win at Hillsborough in September with a 4-2 victory over the Owls at Oakwell in March.

Duff, who took over last summer following the club’s relegation from the Championship, said: “I bet if you look at the odds we’ll be the underdogs. It’s not me trying to create a narrative of my own, they are the facts.

“They finished on 96 points, God knows how many goals they scored, loads of clean sheets, 23-game unbeaten run and they were 4-0 down after the (semi-final) first leg.

“But they’re in a one-off game with us now and the positive is that we know we can hurt them.

“We think we know what we’re going to get and hopefully someone can step up and be the hero.”

Barnsley’s first league double over their South Yorkshire rivals in March also halted the Owls’ club record 23-game unbeaten run.

But Duff, who will choose his starting line-up from a fully-fit squad, said that would have little bearing on Monday’s winner-takes-all encounter.

“Other than the fact that we know we can beat them,” Duff said. “You can dress it up which ever way you want. They’re older, much more experienced.

“Their players will have thousands more league appearances than we have and that might help them. It might not.

“Our youth and naivety might help us. We won’t know until the game pans out, but we know we can hurt them.

“We also know they’re a huge club with big players, and big players, a lot of the time, step up in big moments.

“So we’ll enjoy the day as much as we can, but we’re not going to Wembley for a day out, we’re going there to win.”

Duff acknowledged significant local bragging rights were at stake for both clubs’ fans, but does not feel that will be such a big factor for the players.

“There’s no point hiding away from it,” the former Cheltenham boss added. “But we’re not going to drum it up into something it isn’t.

“It’s a game of football. It’s 22 lads running around, there will be three blokes in black annoying everybody, probably, the pitch will be green and there will be white lines.

“Obviously the local derby element adds just a little bit of spice to what already will be a brilliant game.”