Swansea City have flashed moments of brilliance under head coach Vitor Matos, but if they're serious about climbing the Championship ladder next season, there's still plenty of work to do. It's now been eight long years since the Swans tumbled out of the Premier League, and while the 2021 play-off final loss stung, the truth is they haven't looked like a top-flight club since.

The 2025-26 season followed a painfully familiar script: early hope gave way to worry, before a late surge of promise offered a glimmer of light. It's a cycle Swansea fans know all too well. The big question now is whether Matos—with backing from the club's hierarchy—can finally break that pattern and deliver real, sustained progress come August.

Rewind 12 months, and it was Alan Sheehan riding a wave of momentum after rescuing the team from relegation fears. Before him, Luke Williams had pulled off a similar rescue act after Michael Duff's forgettable spell. Each season, a new hero steps up to steady the ship. But steadying isn't the same as climbing.

Matos' challenge is to change the record entirely. The Swans will kick off 2026-27 with their eyes on the play-offs—especially with the expanded format now rewarding seventh and eighth place. But context is key: aside from two play-off runs under Steve Cooper (buoyed by parachute payments), Swansea's best finish since relegation has been 10th—first under Graham Potter in 2019, then Russell Martin in 2022.

This time around, Matos' side finished 11th—matching Sheehan's position last year, though with three more points. Still, they ended nine points adrift of play-off-bound Hull City and five behind eighth-placed Derby County. Progress? Yes. Enough? Not quite.

For Swansea to truly change their story, the promise of this season needs to become the foundation of something bigger. The pieces are there. Now it's about building a team that doesn't just flirt with hope—but seizes it.