Swansea City would have hoped to finish much higher up than 15th in the Championship under Russell Martin this season and the boss will want to refresh his squad over the summer window in order to propel themselves into promotion contention in the next campaign.

In order to be able to bring in some more of the players that he wants though, Martin has admitted to Wales Online that there may have to be one or two player departures to fund some signings.

The Welsh outfit have played some attractive football under Martin, with the manager renowned for a good style of play and an exciting way in which his teams win games. The results didn't come straight away but they have slowly started to pick some up in the second half of the campaign.

It hasn't been enough to take the side into the top half of the Championship though and they won't want to be on the outside looking in to the play-offs again next year. They'll want to at least be in the top 12 in the division - and that might mean strengthening certain areas of their team.

That could be easier said than done though, with the Swans unable to really afford to splash the cash this summer. That could mean the side end up having to flog some of their better players when the window opens its doors - and boss Martin has admitted as much, telling Wales Online that he will 'have to sell someone' to keep the finances in check.

He said about the need to sell some of his squad: "Yes. I don’t think there’s ever been a question about that.

"The club has to find a way to be sustainable, a club at this level with the size of club we are, everything we have, the only way to do it is to be supported by someone who wants to put their own money in and to do that.

"The ideal scenario is we don’t need to sell anyone and we can keep growing together, but I can't lie to you, you’ve seen it in the accounts, we’ll have to sell someone, or a number of people to get to the financial figure the owners want."

The Verdict

Russell Martin has shown that he can be a very good manager, achieving superb things with MK Dons and showing some flashes of brilliance with Swansea so far.

That football though hasn't always translated to results and despite having some good players in their ranks, they've slumped to 15th this season and have never really threatened the top six spots. They've never been massively in contention and they would have wanted to at least climb into the top half of the division.

He will certainly have an idea of how many players he needs and what areas he needs to improve in but his wants and whether he can actually get them is another matter. With the finances not huge at the club ahead of the window, some will have to depart to make room.

It'll be a fine juggling act for the manager, as he will want to strengthen without losing some of his key players. If he can get that right, then the Swans could be in with a shout next season.