Swansea manager, Steve Cooper, has stated that his side lost their 'identity' in the defeat to Stoke City on Saturday.

The Swans fell to defeat at home to what was a winless Potters side, and it was a big surprise in the Championship considering the start either team had made to the campaign.

Cooper had seen his Swans side sit top of the league in midweek after an impressive victory over Lee Bowyer's Charlton team.

The Swans boss claimed that his team didn't play with their identity and weren't brave enough in the key areas during the loss on the weekend.

Speaking to Dai Sport, Cooper said: “We did not play to our identity.

“The reason we play a certain way is because we think it will win games.

“We did not do that today and we got the result we deserved. We did not want to be brave enough in areas of the pitch to make a difference.

“We had a perfect start – you go a goal up and you should build on that. We created other chances where we were good going forward, but for some reason we did not want to play forward, we did not want to break lines.”

The Verdict

Swansea have made a very good start to the season all in all, but it was a really disappointing result for them on the weekend, and one that they'll be hoping to bounce back from after the latest international break.

It was a shock result, but Stoke were due a victory, it's just a shame for Cooper that it had to happen to his side at the Liberty Stadium.

They're still up and around the top of the Championship and I'm sure after the start to the season that they've had, they will believe that they can make it into the top six come the end of the campaign.

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