SYDNEY coach John Longmire understands the negative talk about his side's finals chances this season, but with a crucial clash with West Coast in Perth on Thursday night, he's just not that interested in September.
The Swans are winless and in 16th position on the ladder after two shock losses at home to Port Adelaide and Collingwood, and another away to the Western Bulldogs, prompting many to declare that Longmire's streak of finals appearances could be in jeopardy.
Longmire has guided his team to a top-eight finish in all six of his seasons so far, with the Swans winning 16-plus games and making the top four in the last five, a remarkable record.
But with a tough trip west in round four and a Sydney derby against the Giants in round five, there's every chance the Swans could be 0-5 and just about cooked for this year, not that Longmire looks that far ahead.
"That’s not as important as this Thursday, and that’s all we can focus on," he said on Tuesday.
"We can understand outside discussions about where we sit (on the ladder) and our opportunities at the end of the year, but internally it's very much about (putting) one foot in front of the other, and getting that right.
"Getting our training sessions right and getting our preparation right and getting our games right at this time of the year, because the results at the end of the year tends to take care of themselves if you get your performance right from week to week.
"We know we need to play better, that's our immediate aim, and we've got confidence that we can do that, but we need to get going, clearly."
The Swans' hopes of beating the Eagles at Domain Stadium could be lifted if ruckman Kurt Tippett can recover from an ankle injury and take the field, but the Thursday night fixture does nothing to help his cause.
Tippett, who was injured against the Bulldogs in round two, completed the warm up with his teammates at the SCG on Tuesday morning and looked to be jogging unhindered before the media were asked to depart the closed session.
Tippett is one of a number of senior Swans to miss games this year, and Longmire said he would continue to pick an inexperienced side so long as young players such as Oliver Florent and Will Hayward were in form and able to handle the physical demands of regular senior footy.
"You saw the way they were running around on the weekend, and particularly in the last quarter … those young boys kicked a couple of important goals," he said.
"(Will) Hayward looked nice and lively and was giving (the side) plenty of energy, so whilst they're in that frame of mind, the signs are pretty good.
"We're looking at players that are playing well at the moment, and a lot of those young players have earned their spots in the team.
"We're not just in the habit of giving games to the young kids for the sake of getting their numbers up, and we still think there's a couple more that could come in as well."
Jarrad McVeigh (calf) and Isaac Heeney (glandular fever) will step up their training again this week and join Gary Rohan (back/hamstring) and Tom Papley (knee) back in the main group, with a view at possibly playing in the next fortnight.
The Swans' NEAFL side has a bye this week so that quartet – along with those not picked for the West Coast game – will have a solid session on Saturday in a bid to prove their fitness for a round five return at some level.
