Leicester manager Enzo Maresca admitted he did not want Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to leave, but said the player’s future was now a matter for the club.

Dewsbury-Hall scored the opening goal after only three minutes as Leicester moved 10 points clear at the top of the Championship thanks to a 3-1 victory over Swansea.

The midfielder is thought to be a January transfer target for Brighton, but Leicester want at least £30million for him.

Two goals in three minutes sealed the points for Leicester with Stephy Mavididi scoring from the penalty spot, and Yunus Akgun adding a third.

But Maresca said Dewsbury-Hall had not been affected by the transfer speculation leading up to the game.

“I don’t want Kiernan to go – ask the club if we need to sell or not,” said Maresca.

“The only way we can do something is to sell players. I don’t think that Kiernan’s future was about this game. Kiernan is a Leicester player, hopefully he can play in the next game.

“Here, he showed once again he is in love with the club, if something will happen now, I don’t know.

“He cares about the club and he has 10 goals this season, probably for the first time in his life, these kind of things, people don’t give the right importance to and it’s not a good thing.”

Maresca also sensed the frustration among the home supporters at times, even though Leicester are dominating the English second tier.

“You can feel the fans when they’re not happy, some people take things for granted,” said the Italian coach.

“We have won 26 of 34 games this season, unbelievable, a huge number.

“The only thing I can say is that people think it’s easy, but it’s not. I came to this club to play with this idea, the moment there is some doubt about the idea, the day after, I will leave, it’s so clear.”

Swansea manager Luke Williams was left frustrated as he searches for his first league win since taking over.

“Leicester are a fantastic side who played in a fantastic way, they unlocked us,” he said.

“We held our own after the first goal, but you need to be clinical to come away with anything from Leicester.

“But then it was really quite frustrating to lose concentration, the second two goals were gifts.

“We made it a little bit too easy for those goals. I haven’t seen the penalty back, but what I know is that what came before it was a lack of concentration and focus and you cannot do that against a top side.

“It’s really difficult and challenging for the players to concentrate for 96 minutes against a side posing so many questions, but if you want to compete at the right end of the division, it’ll require the players to be focused for the entire game.”

Williams admitted his first win in the Championship with Swansea could not come soon enough.

“We’ve had very tough fixtures, but it’d be lovely to get a victory for sure,” he said.

Williams said he expected to be busy as the transfer deadline approached.

“We’re going to be trying to bring the right players in, but it’s challenging,” he added.

“I hope it’s busy and I hope it’s fruitful as well.”

Leicester moved 10 points clear at the top of the Championship following a convincing 3-1 victory over Swansea.

Enzo Maresca’s side took the lead through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall after only three minutes.

Dewsbury-Hall is believed to be a January transfer target for Brighton, but he showed no signs that the speculation was affecting his game.

Leicester then missed a number of opportunities to put the game beyond Swansea’s reach, before Stephy Mavididi scored a 69th-minute penalty and substitute Yunus Akgun added a third, just three minutes later.

Joe Allen scored a stoppage-time consolation goal, but the result left Luke Williams still searching for his first win as Swansea manager.

Leicester took the lead after only three minutes as Dewsbury-Hall scored his 10th goal of the season

Patson Daka played the ball through Nathan Wood’s legs for Dewsbury-Hall, who took his time before picking his spot and putting the ball past Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth.

But Leicester should have added a second after 19 minutes when Dewsbury-Hall crossed from the right for Daka, who was back in the team after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia. But he sliced the ball wide from four yards out.

Leicester came close adding a second on the stroke of half-time when Mavididi’s shot from the edge of the area was tipped on to the crossbar by Rushworth.

Dewsbury-Hall then set up Daka for another chance, but he put his effort over.

The hosts had another chance to score – six minutes after half-time – and this time it was Dewsbury-Hall’s turn as he put a Dennis Praet cross wide from close range at the far post.

Swansea defender Harry Darling then went off injured after 61 minutes.

Leicester’s Kasey McAteer saw a long-range effort fly over the bar and Swansea almost hit back straight away when Jamie Paterson went close from 20 yards out.

But the Foxes finally found the net after 69 minutes from the penalty spot.

Daka took the ball off Swansea’s Bashir Humphreys on the halfway line and raced towards goal.

Wood caught up with the Leicester striker but was penalised for a lunging challenge, missed the ball and left Daka falling over in the box. Wood disputed referee Keith Stroud’s decision, but Mavididi stepped up to convert the spot-kick.

Leicester were three up after 72 minutes as substitute Yunus scored for the second-successive game.

Galatasaray loanee Yunus made the most of some hesitancy in the Swans defence to pounce following a poor clearance from Rushworth.

Swansea scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Jay Fulton’s cross was headed back into the six-yard area by Ben Cabango and Jerry Yates failed to connect before Allen scored from eight yards out.

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola admitted man-of-the-match David Brooks came up with the perfect answer to being left out of his team during the 5-0 FA Cup thrashing of Swansea.

Wales international Brooks made the most of a rare start this season by scoring one goal and making two more as the Cherries cruised into round five on Thursday night.

Iraola said: “The wing position is where we have more options and they are all playing really well.

“Sometimes it is difficult to leave players out. David played really well tonight.

“We were really clinical and started very strongly. It was strange to score five goals in the first half.

“We did not want to start slowly as we have in other cup games this season and were really impressive.

“Our number one priority was to be in the next round. We needed a very good performance after Sunday’s game against Liverpool, where we didn’t finish well.

“We have done our job and we are in the last 16 so let’s see what we get in the draw.”

The Cherries took the lead in the seventh minute when defender Lloyd Kelly came up from the back and found himself unmarked to hook Brooks’ free-kick into the roof of the net.

Three minutes later Brooks broke free down the right before pulling the ball back for Alex Scott to make it 2-0.

Kyle Naughton hit the post for the visitors before Luis Sinisterra scored Bournemouth’s third goal with a confident finish into the far corner, after Swansea goalkeeper Andrew Fisher had passed the ball straight to Scott.

Brooks had to wait until 10 minutes before half-time to get the goal he fully deserved after keeping himself onside to latch onto Dominic Solanke’s slide-rule pass before side-footing past the helpless Fisher.

Top scorer Solanke, who had already fired wide from another Brooks free-kick, grabbed the home side’s fifth a minute before half-time after more dreadful defending from the visitors.

Sinisterra played in a teasing low cross from the left wing and Solanke was left with the freedom of the penalty area to side-foot his 14th goal of the season from 10 yards out.

Swansea manager Luke Williams said: “It was a horrible night for us.

“I apologised to the players because I tried to set the team up to give a problem to the opposition. It is a cup game and we have to try to find a way to win.

“But I put the balance wrong, with too many players in advanced positions and then in the turnover there is not enough bodies to stem the flow of the attack, and the opposition were very good.

“In the second half we had more bodies back, but then it was very difficult for us to get near their goal. We tried to limit the damage because the scoreline was too heavy.”

Swansea boss Luke Williams apologised for his team set-up after a “horrible night” saw them thrashed 5-0 by Bournemouth in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Williams had made five changes from Saturday’s 3-1 Sky Bet Championship defeat by Southampton, but soon found their game plan torn apart as the Premier League side raced into a 3-0 lead inside the opening 15 minutes.

Lloyd Kelly gave the hosts an early lead when he volleyed in David Brooks’ free-kick at the far post, with Alex Scott soon adding another in the 10th minute.

Swansea goalkeeper goalkeeper Andy Fisher was punished when his loose pass was latched onto by Scott, who set up Luis Sinisterra to slot in Bournemouth’s third goal with just 14 minutes played.

After Kyle Naughton’s effort hit the post at the other end, Swansea fell further behind when Wales midfielder Brooks broke away onto Dominic Solanke’s through-ball in the 34th minute.

Solanke made it 5-0 just before half-time when he slotted in a low cross from Sinisterra.

Swansea stemmed the flow during the second half, but Bournemouth still created chances, with substitutes Kieffer Moore and Milos Kerkez both going close late on.

Williams offered no excuses. He said on S4C: “It was a horrible night for us.

“I apologised to the players because I tried to set the team up to give a problem to the opposition. It is a cup game and we have to try to find a way to win.

“But I put the balance wrong, with too many players in advanced positions and then in the turnover there is not enough bodies to stem the flow of the attack, and the opposition were very good.

“In the second half we had more bodies back, but then it was very difficult for us to get near their goal. We tried to limit the damage because the scoreline was too heavy.”

The sides had already met once earlier this season in the Carabao Cup, when Bournemouth edged through 3-2 at the Swansea.com Stadium with a late goal from Ryan Christie.

Williams admitted some of his players had looked “nervous” as they were taken apart during a blistering opening spell from the Cherries.

“I don’t want to single anybody out or talk about individual errors,” he said.

“We are playing against an outstanding team, who we are probably going to lose against because there is a big gap in the quality of the two teams at this moment in time.

“But tactics aside, making very easy openings (for Bournemouth) by making mistakes, that was disappointing – but I needed to help the team quicker and find a way to give them more bodies behind the ball to defend.”

Brooks captained Bournemouth, and was named player of the match having provided two assist as well as his goal.

“I’m trying to do the best I can when I get the minutes and the opportunities,” the Wales midfielder said.

“We have got a great group of players and today was one of the chances I get to show what I am capable of, and hopefully I’ve done that.

“I want to be as fit as possible for the (Euro 2024 play-offs with Wales in March) so am trying to get as much football as possible.

“These are the games where I can show what I can do to bump up the minutes ahead of the qualifiers.”

David Brooks’ classy display was the catalyst for Bournemouth thrashing Swansea 5-0 to become the first team to book their place in the FA Cup fifth round.

Wales international Brooks scored one goal and provided two assists as the Cherries racked up their biggest FA Cup win against a Football League side since beating Bristol Rovers 6-1 in the 1927-28 season.

Both teams made five changes from their weekend line-ups but that did not stop Bournemouth making light work of their Championship visitors to move into the last 16 for only the third time since 1989.

Andoni Iraola’s Premier League side stormed into a 3-0 lead with less than a quarter of an hour gone as Swansea’s defence completely capitulated on the south coast.

The Cherries took the lead in the seventh minute when defender Lloyd Kelly came up from the back to find himself unmarked to hook Brooks’ free-kick into the roof of the net.

Three minutes later Brooks broke free down the right before pulling the ball back for Alex Scott to make it 2-0.

Kyle Naughton hit the post for the visitors before Luis Sinisterra scored Bournemouth’s third goal with a confident finish into the far corner after Swansea goalkeeper Andrew Fisher had passed the ball straight to Scott.

The irrepressible Brooks had to wait until 10 minutes before half-time to get the goal he fully deserved after keeping himself onside to latch onto Dominic Solanke’s slide-rule pass before side-footing past the helpless Fisher.

Top-scorer Solanke, who had already fired wide from another Brooks free-kick, grabbed the home side’s fifth a minute before half-time after more dreadful defending from the visitors.

Sinisterra played in a teasing low cross from the left wing and Solanke was left with the freedom of the penalty area to side-foot his 14th goal of the season from 10 yards out.

Liam Cullen was unlucky not to reduce the deficit in first-half stoppage-time as his shot was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Bournemouth’s stand-in goalkeeper Mark Travers.

It was the first time the Cherries had been 5-0 up at the interval since beating non-league Margate 11-0 in an FA Cup first round tie in 1971.

Iraola rested Solanke for the second half but his replacement Kieffer Moore could have made it 6-0 within seconds of coming on after narrowly failing to get on the end of James Hill’s floated cross.

Moore came close again 15 minutes from time when his effort from midway inside the Swansea penalty area was deflected behind for a corner, while Milos Kerkez also slotted wide as the hosts failed to add to their tally.

The only negative for Bournemouth, already missing several key defenders, was losing defender James Hill to injury after he landed awkwardly midway through the second half.

David Brooks’ classy display was the catalyst for Bournemouth thrashing Swansea 5-0 to become the first team to book their place in the FA Cup fifth round.

Wales international Brooks scored one goal and provided two assists as the Cherries racked up their biggest FA Cup win against a Football League side since beating Bristol Rovers 6-1 in the 1927-28 season.

Both teams made five changes from their weekend line-ups but that did not stop Bournemouth making light work of their Championship visitors to move into the last 16 for only the third time since 1989.

Andoni Iraola’s Premier League side stormed into a 3-0 lead with less than a quarter of an hour gone as Swansea’s defence completely capitulated on the south coast.

The Cherries took the lead in the seventh minute when defender Lloyd Kelly came up from the back to find himself unmarked to hook Brooks’ free-kick into the roof of the net.

Three minutes later Brooks broke free down the right before pulling the ball back for Alex Scott to make it 2-0.

Kyle Naughton hit the post for the visitors before Luis Sinisterra scored Bournemouth’s third goal with a confident finish into the far corner after Swansea goalkeeper Andrew Fisher had passed the ball straight to Scott.

The irrepressible Brooks had to wait until 10 minutes before half-time to get the goal he fully deserved after keeping himself onside to latch onto Dominic Solanke’s slide-rule pass before side-footing past the helpless Fisher.

Top-scorer Solanke, who had already fired wide from another Brooks free-kick, grabbed the home side’s fifth a minute before half-time after more dreadful defending from the visitors.

Sinisterra played in a teasing low cross from the left wing and Solanke was left with the freedom of the penalty area to side-foot his 14th goal of the season from 10 yards out.

Liam Cullen was unlucky not to reduce the deficit in first-half stoppage-time as his shot was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Bournemouth’s stand-in goalkeeper Mark Travers.

It was the first time the Cherries had been 5-0 up at the interval since beating non-league Margate 11-0 in an FA Cup first round tie in 1971.

Iraola rested Solanke for the second half but his replacement Kieffer Moore could have made it 6-0 within seconds of coming on after narrowly failing to get on the end of James Hill’s floated cross.

Moore came close again 15 minutes from time when his effort from midway inside the Swansea penalty area was deflected behind for a corner, while Milos Kerkez also slotted wide as the hosts failed to add to their tally.

The only negative for Bournemouth, already missing several key defenders, was losing defender James Hill to injury after he landed awkwardly midway through the second half.

Russell Martin says Southampton’s new unbeaten club record will not carry as much importance if the Saints do not return to the Premier League.

Southampton broke a 103-year-old club record on Saturday by extending their unbeaten run to 21 games with a 3-1 victory at Martin’s old club Swansea.

Victory lifted the Saints into second place in the Sky Bet Championship, above Ipswich on goal difference.

“It is a nice moment,” Martin said after his side completed Southampton’s best unbeaten run in all competitions since joining the Football League in 1920, eclipsing the 20 games undefeated achieved the following year.

“I’m really grateful to the players for what they’ve done, the courage they’ve shown. I’m immensely proud.

“The way they did it in the first half, one of the best performances I’ve ever been involved in as coach.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work and they’ve really stepped up. They’ve written themselves in to the history books – and let’s keep it going.

“It will have more significance, importance and standing if we achieve what we want at the end of the season, otherwise it will be just something we’ve achieved together.”

First-half goals from Che Adams, Will Smallbone and Flynn Downes – his first for Saints coming on his 25th birthday and against his former club – put Southampton in control.

However, Saints had to withstand late home pressure as Swansea twice hit the post and Gavin Bazunu made a couple of useful saves.

“We didn’t mix the game up in the last 20 minutes and played with no real purpose,” said Martin.

“We were relentless in the first half and I was disappointed the way we conceded at the end of that half.

“It was handball and offside but we had one offside (goal), so it is what it is.

“It took us a little bit longer to get the wheels in motion. Those two clubs (Leicester and Ipswich) had the two best starts in Championship history, so the fact we are now there and in the fight, in the mix, and hunting them both down, is a real credit to the players.”

Martin was given a warm welcome by Swansea fans on his return to the club he managed for two years and left last June.

Relations between Martin and the Swansea hierarchy had soured after the club had a dismal January transfer window.

“I felt sick this morning and couldn’t eat any breakfast,” said Martin.

“But it was really nice to come back and I enjoyed it more because of our performance and the fact we won.

“Seeing all the backroom staff and lots of people who meant a lot to us – and who we have a lot of love and affection for – was special.”

For Swansea boss Luke Williams, it was a first defeat in charge following an FA Cup victory over Morecambe and a Championship draw at Birmingham.

Jamie Paterson made it 2-1 just before half-time with a close-range header, and Swansea finally shook off the shackles to set up a grandstand finish that almost brought surprise reward.

“First half we were too deep, far too deep,” said Williams, Martin’s former assistant at both MK Dons and Swansea.

“Southampton could push the ball around, take their time and wait for the space and they did that brilliantly.

“Second half, the difference is we play higher up the pitch and we were able to create chances.”

Former Notts County boss Williams was appointed after Martin’s successor Michael Duff lasted less than five months in the job.

He said: “If it was something that was a really quick fix, everyone would be doing it. it’s not going to be that easy.

“I need to try to get the message across to the players in a clinical way because we are not blessed with time at the moment.”

Southampton broke a 103-year-old club record by going 21 games unbeaten as Russell Martin celebrated his return to Swansea with a 3-1 success.

Che Adams, Will Smallbone and birthday boy Flynn Downes scored first-half goals as the Saints secured a Sky Bet Championship victory that should have been by a far greater margin.

Jamie Paterson gave Swansea brief hope in cutting the deficit to 2-1, but this was a sobering defeat for the hosts – their first in four games since losing at Southampton on Boxing Day.

Southampton have now eclipsed their best unbeaten run in all competitions since joining the Football League in 1920, the Saints going 20 games without defeat the following year.

A sixth win in seven league games moves Southampton into second place, above Ipswich on goal difference before they meet Championship leaders Leicester on Monday.

Martin was given a warm welcome by Swansea fans on his return to the club he managed for two years and left last June.

Luke Williams, who worked as Martin’s assistant at MK Dons and Swansea, was in charge in the home dugout for the first time in the league.

Williams had started his reign with an FA Cup victory over Morecambe and a Championship draw at Birmingham, but this was a far tougher proposition against visitors unbeaten since September 23.

Southampton thrashed Swansea 5-0 at St Mary’s and could have matched that total inside the opening half-hour.

Adams volleyed an inviting opportunity wide before Carl Rushworth pushed Stuart Armstrong’s sixth-minute shot into the Scotland striker’s path for his ninth goal of the season.

Rushworth was the busiest man in Swansea, with several stops including a fantastic double save to deny Ryan Fraser and Adam Armstrong.

Swansea’s defence was breached again after 20 minutes, although there was more than a hint of offside about it.

Stuart Armstrong seemed well beyond the last home defender, but he was allowed to continue and his cross was converted by Smallbone from inside the six-yard box.

Josh Tymon had Swansea’s first effort, looping over from 20 yards, but Rushworth kept them in the contest by kicking away Adam Armstrong’s angled attempt at a post.

Southampton’s share of possession was over 80 per cent at times, but Swansea scored out of nowhere four minutes before the break.

Harrison Ashby’s cross ended in a collision between Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu and Jamal Lowe.

The Swansea striker had possibly been offside, but the ball ran kindly to Liam Cullen and his centre was nodded home by Paterson.

Southampton restored their two-goal advantage on the stroke of half-time as former Swansea midfielder Downes fired home from 20 yards with the aid of a deflection.

Downes was celebrating his 25th birthday, but did not salute his first Saints goal out of respect for his former club.

The second period was a far quieter affair until Paterson struck the Saints woodwork twice in as many minutes.

Bazunu also thwarted substitute Yannick Bolasie from close range as Swansea finished strongly, but without success.

Birmingham’s new manager Tony Mowbray admitted he was frustrated despite rescuing a dramatic 2-2 draw against Swansea at St Andrew’s.

Substitute Jordan James drilled home from 25 yards in the fifth minute of added time when Blues were struggling to create chances after plenty of opportunities in the first half.

Mowbray thought a point was the least the team deserved in his first game in charge after they dominated for the first hour.

“I thought we could have had scored five goals with the chances we had in the first half,” said Mowbray, who has replaced Wayne Rooney.

“There were chances right in front of the goals where we had shots blocked and then (Siriki) Dembele ran through at the start of the second half – I didn’t see Swansea having those chances.

“I was frustrated that we didn’t win the game, so it was very nice that Luke Williams (Swansea head coach) said we deserved something from it.

“Hopefully, somewhere down the line those chances will go in and we will win 5-2.”

Mowbray admitted it is early days in his reign and accepts there is lots to do.

He added: “There’s a long way to go and it’s a gradual thing because I’ve had three and a half days on the training pitches.

“We have to play forward more – I don’t like teams that ‘horse-shoe’ it around the back and pass it back to the goalkeeper.

“But we kept going to the end and any team that can recover from going goals down is an important trait.

“The players have looked me in the eye and they have bought into what I’m trying to do.”

Swansea took a 36th-minute lead when unmarked defender Harry Darling powered home a bullet header from Josh Tymon’s corner.

That lead lasted just two minutes as Siriki Dembele equalised with a fine solo goal, sprinting away from his marker before curling a low right-footed shot into the far bottom corner of the net.

Darling’s looping header hit the bar before Jamal Lowe got ahead of Dion Sanderson to poke home Tymon’s cross in the 59th minute.

Birmingham looked beaten after tailing off in the last half hour, but James changed all that with a superb strike.

Despite the late setback, Swansea head coach Luke Williams believed the draw was a fair result.

“It was disappointing because there was such little time (after Birmingham’s late equaliser) but if you take the game overall, Birmingham deserved at least a point,” he said.

“We didn’t create enough clear-cut chances to have won – maybe three good chances – but you can’t win a game like that if the other team create three good chances.

“I think we expected a really energetic performance from Birmingham because Tony Mowbray will make sure that happens.

“But we caused ourselves problems because with a team really fired up to press you and be aggressive, we couldn’t afford to play sloppily, especially near your own goal.

“But I think we made the classic mistake of trying to defend the lead out (for the late equaliser).”

Substitute Jordan James rescued a 2-2 draw for Tony Mowbray’s Birmingham as the battle of the new managers ended all square with Luke Williams’ Swansea at St Andrew’s.

Harry Darling put the visitors ahead before Siriki Dembele quickly equalised only for Jamal Lowe to restore the Swans’ lead after the break before Wales international James drove home in the 95th minute.

Darling also hit the bar but Blues wasted several chances as the hosts ushered in the Mowbray era after Wayne Rooney’s departure.

Swansea, in former Notts County manager Williams’ second match in charge, are unbeaten in four, while Blues are now without a win in seven including the FA Cup.

Birmingham, showing five changes from the 3-0 defeat at Leeds, pressed from the kick-off and the lively Dembele created two half-chances.

Koji Miyoshi’s low attempt sailed narrowly wide from 16 yards, then the latter’s cross hit Matt Grimes to give Scott Hogan the chance to launch a spectacular overhead kick that flew straight at Carl Rushworth.

Blues went even closer to taking the lead in the 25th minute after Bashir Humphreys was dispossessed by Jay Stansfield.

From the on-loan Fulham forward’s cross, Dembele’s shot was blocked by Rushworth then Krystian Bielik’s follow-up was diverted away by a defender.

Swansea punished Blues to take a 36th-minute lead with their first serious effort on goal.

Defender Darling stole in unmarked to power home a bullet header from Josh Tymon’s corner.

But their advantage was short-lived as Dembele equalised with a fine solo goal on 38 minutes.

The left winger sprinted away from his marker before curling a low right-footed shot beyond Rushworth and into the far bottom corner of the net for his sixth goal of the season.

Birmingham ended the first half as they started it – on the attack. Stansfield’s fierce follow-up was deflected behind after Hogan got in front of Rushworth forcing him to drop Miyoshi’s curling attempt.

The hosts should have gone ahead within a minute of the restart.

The inspired Dembele darted clean through for a one-on-one with Rushworth who denied him, after Hogan flicked on Dion Sanderson’s pass.

Swansea almost scored again with two quick chances before regaining the lead.

Darling’s looping header from a deep free-kick crashed off the bar then goalkeeper John Ruddy blocked Lowe’s angled shot.

Lowe was not to be denied again though after getting ahead of Sanderson to poke home Tymon’s left-wing cross in the 59th minute for his sixth goal of the season.

Birmingham looked dead and buried after tailing off in the last half-hour but, out of nowhere, James produced a moment of magic when he drilled home from 25 yards after a short pass from fellow substitute Juninho Bacuna.

New Swansea manager Luke Williams was satisfied with his side’s 2-0 FA Cup third round win against Morecambe.

Second-half goals from Charlie Patino and Jerry Yates saw the Sky Bet Championship club into the fourth round despite a somewhat laboured performance.

Williams was only unveiled two days ago, joining from League Two Notts County after the Swans hierarchy took more than a month to appoint a successor to sacked Michael Duff.

Williams said: “There were some positives with things that I saw from the short amount of time I have worked with the players.

“There were also some things that I saw they struggled to implement, not because anyone isn’t good enough, just because there are a lot of small changes that take time.

“We will look at the game back and show the players what we want.

“We created enough chances to have scored a few more and the clean sheet was not an accident because we prevented the opposition from having a shot on target.”

Williams heaped praise on assistant Alan Sheehan for his work as caretaker boss since Duff’s departure.

He added: “I had conversation with Alan and asked him where he was at with the preparation.

“He suggested a very sensible team in terms of giving the correct amount of minutes to certain players.

“Alan has been incredible. He put the team in a great place when it could have been in a terrible place when I arrived.

“But I came in and he had got everybody in a good place and had a grasp on everything. I am very fortunate he did so much. He is a great guy.”

Williams, 42, who began his career in coaching at Swindon, appeared relieved to have come through the assignment against a side 49 places below Swansea in the Football League.

“They are competitive in League Two, they are strong and have experienced players,” he said.

“Looking at the statistics of the game, it looks like the way I want to play. We dominated the game, put the ball into the box a lot and created chances.

“Can we now do that cleaner, better, sharper, more accurately in league games? I hope so.”

Goalscorer Patino, meanwhile, was singled out for praise by his new boss.

“I said to Charlie at half-time he is an attacking midfielder and he has to create and score goals, not just be in the middle of the pitch,” said Williams.

“In the final third, an attacking midfielder is a killer. The longer it went with us not scoring, the more vulnerable we were.

“He then went back out and did exactly what I wanted by scoring the goal.

“After that we moved the ball correctly and saw the game out.”

Swansea eased their way into the FA Cup fourth round with a 2-0 win against Sky Bet League Two strugglers Morecambe.

Second-half goals from midfielders Charlie Patino and Jerry Yates saw the Sky Bet Championship side safely into the hat and secured victory in new manager Luke Williams’ opening match in charge.

While Swansea were never seriously troubled, they were laboured at times and made harder work of the win than Williams would have liked.

But the 42-year-old, who had a spell at Swansea as assistant under former boss Russell Martin before leaving to guide Notts County back into the Football League, will be relieved there was no cup slip-up.

Williams, brought in as replacement for the sacked Michael Duff after a recruitment process that dragged on over a month, was introduced to the crowd before kick-off.

There was warmth and tangible optimism in the reception he received but Williams has a considerable revival job on his hands, with the Swans well off the Championship play-offs pace in 16th position.

He opted to make 11 changes to the side which began the last league outing – a 1-0 win against West Brom.

But with the likes of captain Joe Allen, defenders Nathan Wood and Kyle Naughton and midfielders Charlie Patino and Ollie Cooper, there was no shortage of recognised first-choice players in the starting line-up.

It was no surprise the Swans monopolised possession from the first whistle, but their failure to seriously threaten the Morecambe goal frustrated home fans.

A deflected effort from midfielder Azeem Abdulai that fizzed just wide in the sixth minute looked like a sign of things to come.

Arsenal-loanee Patino forced Shrimps goalkeeper Adam Smith to tip his header over the crossbar in the 14th minute after left wiger Yannick Bolassie nodded across goal.

The impressive Bolasie went close eight minutes before the interval when his fierce effort from range narrowly cleared the bar.

But Swansea were thwarted for long spells by a well-drilled and disciplined Morecambe side content to limit their ambition to sporadic counter-attacks.

The pattern did not last long after the interval.

Just two minutes after the restart Patino made the breakthrough, ghosting in at the far post unmarked to side-foot volley a cross by Sam Parker underneath the body of Smith for the opener.

Morecambe did exert some pressure as the match entered its closing stages, but failed to create a single clearcut chance to equalise.

Their challenge was extinguished in the 87th minute when Yates found space on the edge of the 18-yard box and sent a low left-footed shot into the bottom corner of Smith’s net.

Swansea caretaker boss Alan Sheehan called for the process of appointing a full-time manager to be completed this week in the wake of a 1-0 home win over West Brom.

Sheehan was speaking after seeing his side notch a first win over a top-six team in the Championship since February 2022 – and keep a clean-sheet for the first time in 11 games since November 4.

“I’d say we are closer to a decision on the new manager but at the moment I’m just trying to enjoy this victory,” said Sheehan, who has picked up 11 points from his seven games in temporary charge.

“I’ve had conversations this week but like I keep saying, there is a process to go through and I understand there’s obviously a lot of people interested in the job. It needs to be concluded this week, I’d say.”

A goalless first half in torrential rain at the Swansea.com Stadium gave way to a far more dynamic and free-flowing second period. Liam Cullen’s goal ended a purple patch for the home side, although Josh Tymon also hit the post.

“To get back-to-back home wins and to beat a top-six side builds confidence,” added Sheehan.

“What we saw out there was a team fighting for the badge and working hard together in and out of possession.

“We have had a difficult period – Southampton and Coventry away and then West Brom at home. If we had taken all our chances at the start of the second half the game could have been done.

“There were goals that were just one pass or touch away and we also hit the post. We need to get better at beating the press, although it is a really positive day.”

Defeat on New Year’s Day ruined the festive record of Carlos Corberan’s Baggies, who came into the game on the back of 1-0 home wins over Norwich and Leeds.

“We are disappointed in the result but it is no big disappointment other than that,” said Corberan. “I saw the team compete in the way we have to compete.

“We were better than them in the second half of the first half but then they found a way to compete with their set pieces in the first half of the second half.

“We were better in the second part of the second half but couldn’t score. We had two good chances to score in the first half, of which (Brandon) Thomas-Asante’s was the biggest.”

Liam Cullen gave Swansea’s caretaker boss Alan Sheehan the perfect New Year’s gift as he scored the only goal in a home win over West Brom in atrocious conditions.

After a 5-0 drubbing at Southampton on Boxing Day and a 2-2 draw at Coventry three days later, it was a return to winning ways for the west Wales club thanks to Cullen’s 55th-minute strike.

The home side, still managerless after the departure of Michael Duff last month, made a solid start but despite many passes and much probing could not find a way through the Albion defensive lines.

Chances were few and far between in the first half, with Conor Townsend’s rasping shot from the left edge of the box after a wonderful through ball from Cedric Kipre forcing Carl Rushworth to stretch full length and tip the ball away for a corner in the 20th minute.

Swansea’s first chance fell to Cullen after a cross from the left by Josh Tymon but his header was saved before Jay Fulton’s first-time shot sailed wide.

The visitors should have replied soon after when Fulton gave the ball away and Brandon Thomas-Asante picked up the pieces and drove deep into the home half before crossing for Jayson Molumby to head over.

The impressive Tom Fellows then set-up Thomas-Asante for a clear run on goal with a brilliant turn and lay-off pass but he could only strike the ball straight at Rushworth.

Swansea must have had a stern half-time lecture from Sheehan because they were a side transformed after the break, moving the ball more quickly and were far more direct.

That caught Albion on the hop and Jamie Paterson’s volley from a cross from Charlie Patino was blocked.

Jut before the goal, a Paterson free-kick from the right was headed goalwards by Harry Darling and it took a brilliant reflex save from Alex Palmer to keep it out.

But the Swans now had real momentum and a Tymon cross from the left into the path of Jamal Lowe allowed him to force another good save out of Palmer.

From the corner, the ball was headed clear, only to be pumped back into the box by home skipper Matt Grimes. Darling rose high to head the ball down and Cullen was on hand to sweep the ball past Palmer.

Tymon then hit the right hand post with a chip shot before the visitors mounted pressure at the other end to try to rescue a point.

Swansea interim head coach Alan Sheehan was proud of his side after Liam Cullen’s last-gasp free-kick earned a 2-2 draw at Coventry.

Liam Walsh had put Swansea ahead in the seventh minute before they were pegged back by Haji Wright.

Ellis Simms then fired the Sky Blues in front before Cullen’s superb free-kick in the third minute of added time.

The point came after the Swans had been hammered 5-0 by former head coach Russell Martin and Southampton on Boxing Day.

Sheehan said: “We had to hang in there at times but how we finished the last 10-15 minutes I really liked and I think we deserved a point.

“They just kept on fighting and that’s the proudest thing I can say about them.

“We wanted a response, a lot of things have gone against us in the last couple of days in terms of the result, sickness running through the camp with a lot of lads up all night sick.

“The manner of the goals conceded is incredibly disappointing but for large amounts of the first half I saw a team that I really like watching.

“We just wanted a reaction, to draw a line under it, show how we get better, can we start building a structure? I thought for large amounts of the first half and as we went into the second you saw a real identity to what we wanted to do today.”

Swansea have been without a head coach since Michael Duff was sacked on December 4, as Sheehan took charge of his sixth match.

He added: “They’re looking for the right person. Different clubs do it different and they appoint straight away but there’s a lot of people interested in this job.

“I think it’s very important the club and board get the right person to drive this club forward.

“I’m enjoying it, it’s hard and a really difficult time in terms of travelling and time away from family, a lot of sacrifices but I believe our work has been meticulous and we at least deserved a point for that.”

Despite the last-gasp equaliser, which prevented Coventry from making it three straight wins, manager Mark Robins claimed that it was a point gained for the Sky Blues.

“You don’t gain anything until the final whistle, so we’ve gained a point,” said Robins.

“The goal was poor, the wall was not set quite right, there was too much of a gap there and he just played it through it.

“We’ve played pretty well, at times we’ve had some good moves, created good chances, took some really good chances and then just maybe a little bit more concentration sees us through.

“We didn’t have enough control in the game for the last five minutes or so, there were times in the game where we did and we started to get on top and we got our noses in front.

“We conceded the goal early on but the reply was really quick, a really incisive move and a really good finish from Haji.

“The second half was too open but then the changes that I made had an impact.

“We’re disappointed that we’ve conceded that goal. Firstly the free-kick in the first place and then letting them have the gap to hit the corner.

“It was a consequence of the weight of the pressure because we didn’t get hold of the ball in the front area which allowed them to keep picking it up and keep coming at us, so that’s frustrating.

“They’ve worked really hard, the third game in a really short space of time and we were a couple of minutes away from three points.”