Carlos Carvahal has transformed Swansea

I remember when Portuguese boss Carlos Carvahal became the Swansea boss in December. The Swans seemed to be sinking into the Championship and there was little hope of the Welsh side surviving the drop this season.

The 52-year-old’s appointment was a gamble. However, he showed enough at Sheffield Wednesday to prove he is a very competent boss. The Swans are now on a run of eight games without defeat and are out of the bottom three, albeit on a goal difference. It is an amazing turnaround for the Welsh club.

Carvalhal has instilled confidence at Swansea

The Welsh side played like a team devoid of any confidence prior to Carvalhal’s appointment. The fact the Portuguese boss stated that he did not believe the team was a lost cause when he arrived, which set the tone for the improvement.

Carvahal refused to let the team and please believe that they were doomed. That has helped instil confidence in basically the same group of players. Home wins over Liverpool and Arsenal illustrated that the Welsh side are playing with a massive belief.

An 8-1 midweek home win over Notts County in an FA Cup fourth-round replay showed that the Swans have also found their scoring boots. The Swans were the lowest scorers in the top-flight prior to the new boss’s arrival at the club.

They have a real chance of survival

The fight for Premier League survival has drawn in half of the teams in the top-flight. Such is the tight nature of the table that a team can win and move up four places in the table. However, a defeat can cause a team to drop like a stone.

Recently, Huddersfield have dropped from the safety of midtable to 19^th position courtesy of a bad run. Swansea have given themselves a real chance of survival with their recent results.

A good run of results could see the Welsh side move into the top half of the Premier League table. The way the Swans are playing at the minute, you certainly would not back against them moving away from the drop zone.

Swansea are now odds of 5/4 to suffer relegation this season. However, they are now only third-favourites for the drop, whereas a couple of weeks ago they were stone cold favourites to go down.

Carlos Carvahal has come across as a big character and his methods have obviously proved effective so far. If he keeps the Swans up this season then he will turn out to be another shrewd appointment by the Swansea hierarchy.

Big game on Saturday

This weekend Swansea have the perfect chance to build on their recent run of form when they welcome mid-table Burnley to the Liberty Stadium. It is certainly a winnable game for the Welsh side.

There is now such a positive atmosphere around the club and momentum with the team. A win against the Clarets would only keep that positivity going heading into the final stretch of the Premier League campaign.

Burnley are a decent team. However, their recent form has not been great and the home side certainly heads into the game in the better spirits. A home win would really move the Swans up the Premier League table.

Carvalhal has done a brilliant job at the Welsh club just to get them out of the relegation zone. However, the Portuguese boss’ reign as Swansea City boss will only be successful if he keeps the Swans in the Premier League.

With a few months of the season remaining, that looks like a very realistic goal, which did not look possible when he was appointed back in December. Keeping the Swans in the top-flight will only be good for the Portuguese boss’ CV, as after all he only has a contract with the Welsh club until the summer.

Will Carlos Carvalhal keep Swansea in the Premier League?