Swansea City head coach Vitor Matos has said his side must “take care” of their impressive defensive record as they aim to challenge for promotion.
Championship leaders Swansea have conceded just once across their first five games of the season, fewer than any other team in the English Football League (EFL).
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A 0-0 draw against Wrexham means the Swans have managed four clean sheets in their first five league games for the first time since the 1978-79 season.
“It’s good, but we know it can change quite quickly. We all know how the league is and how the results are,” Matos said after Saturday’s Welsh derby.
“That [defensive record] is something that we need to take care of, of course. It’s important for us.”
Speaking after a much-hyped but in the end somewhat lack-lustre affair at the Swansea.com Stadium, Matos says there is more to come from his side.
“We have said from the beginning that it is important to defend well to then be able to attack. That is the feeling that we want to have.
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“Today was a massive game in terms of set-pieces. We knew they would be massive for Wrexham, and we didn’t allow them that comfort in the game.”
After Callum O’Hare had missed earlier on, Kieffer Moore nearly ended Swansea’s clean-sheet run, but Lawrence Vigouroux denied the Wrexham forward.
Chile international Vigouroux has been gaining attention on social media for his distribution, but Matos also had praise for the keeper’s shot-stopping ability.
“Clean sheets are massive. We all know that every player contributes to that, but Vigs is massive because he’s a wonderful goalkeeper,” Matos added.
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“In a game when he didn’t have a lot to do in the first-half, he made an unbelievable save in the second half. He is a goalie to do that.”
Former Leyton Orient goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux joined Swansea in 2024 after failing to make an appearance during a one-year spell at Burnley [Huw Evans Picture Agency]
Saturday’s draw against Wrexham also saw the return of club captain Ben Cabango, whose tackle on debutant O’Hare caught the ire of Phil Parkinson.
Matos is pleased to have the Welsh international back from injury, and believes Cabango will add to the healthy competition for places in his backline.
Cabango featured in all but one of Swansea’s Championship games last season while centre-back partner Cam Burgess played every minute of the campaign.
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The Australia international is expected to miss the rest of this season with an Achilles injury, but Matos is confident he can keep his other options fresh.
“We have healthy competition, and it’s important to have depth in that position,” the Portuguese coach explained.
“Last season we coped for the whole season with Ben and Cam. It was quite a hard task for them. Having the depth there, which allows them to be fresh, is massive.
“Now we have Welshy (Stephen Welsh), Ben, Jenson [Seelt] and Fil [Lissah], which is nice to have and important for the upcoming games.”
Swansea return to Championship action when they face Southampton at St Mary’s on Tuesday, 8 September (19:45 BST).
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