ALAN CORK finally lost patience with his Swansea City defence today after several sloppy performances.
On the eve of Exeter's visit to Vetch Field, the Swansea manager told his players that it was time to start getting mean again.
"There were some harsh words because I've been saving it up," said Cork.
"We simply cannot go on giving teams a goal start. It has to stop and we must sort things out now.
It's all very well creating chances, as we did against Notts County, but that is not much good if we are not taking them and then the defence gives away sloppy goals," added the Swansea manager.
Cork described Tuesday's performance at Meadow Lane as the worst defensive display since he has been in charge of the team.
Although he highlighted the poor first-half performance by his three central defenders, Cork was equally critical over the scoring chances being passed up.
"It's great to see all the chances we create but they don't win matches. If we hope to improve and win games we cannot keep missing them," he insisted.
Cork is expected to make at least two changes from the side which lost 2-1 against the runaway Third Division leaders.
Lee Jenkins looks likely to take over from the suspended Kwame Ampadu in midfield while club captain Keith Walker is certain to be restored to the defence even though Christian Edwards has been declared fit.
Swansea are still without Dave O'Gorman (knee ligament) and Richie Appleby who was due to see a specialist today over a persistent groin problem which could be hernia related.
The club are also waiting to hear whether Ryan Casey, recently recovered from a twisted ankle, has shaken off a virus.
Vetch squads:
Swansea City: Freestone; from Hartfield, Coates, Edwards, O'Leary, Bound, Walker, Cusack, Bird, Watkin, Price, Lacey, Jenkins, Casey, Howard, Barwood.
Exeter: Bayes; from Gale, Cyrus, Blake, Clark, Birch, Medlin, Flack, Williams, McConnell, Rowbotham, Devlin, Ghazghazi, Gardiner, Holloway, Baddeley.
SWANSEA City will decide in the next day or two whether to take disciplinary action against Tony Bird after the top-scoring striker became the club's eighth dismissal of the season. Bird was sent off 70 minutes into last night's 2-1 defeat at Notts County for two bookable offences.
Cautioned in first-half stoppage time, Bird received his second yellow card from Wirral referee Mike Dean after bringing down Steve Finnan.
In normal circumstances, Bird would be fined but Swansea claim the decision to dismiss the striker was harsh and manager Alan Cork is to discuss the issue with chairman Steve Hamer before deciding whether to extend Bird's punishment beyond the automatic one-match ban.
"It's the sort of tackle Bird makes every game, tracking back and getting the ball. That's what I felt he did. It was not a harsh challenge but it was a harsh decision," said Cork.
"I'll discuss it with the chairman and Bird before deciding whether we as a club take any action," added the manager.
Swansea's record is among the worst in the Nationwide League. Apart from Bird, Richie Appleby (three times), Kwame Ampadu (twice), Christian Edwards and Mark Clode have all been sent off this winter.
Swansea's FAW Invitation Cup quarter-final at Wrexham on Tuesday, March 24 will be televised live by sponsors BBC Wales.
Quarter-finals: Bangor v Newtown (March 3); Barry v Merthyr (March 10); Cardiff v Conwy (March 17); Wrexham v Swansea (March 24).
All matches have to be concluded on the night so extra time and penalties will be played if necessary.
ALAN Cork sends his Swansea City players out to meet the form team of the Nationwide League tonight with a positive message ringing in their ears.
"We've got nothing to fear," insists the Swansea manager ahead of a daunting challenge against Notts County at Meadow Lane (7.45).
The runaway Third Division leaders have taken 37 points from their last 13 games and look unstoppable.
Even Cork concedes: "They are racing away with the League and look absolutely certain of going up, but I think a big stadium and a big pitch will suit my players."
Swansea go into the match on the back of just two League defeats in eight games since the turn of the year, an improving set of results which has carried them clear of the bottom three clubs.
"Our away record has not been too bad and we are not the easiest team to beat at the moment. Our current form must be in the top seven or eight in the division and I don't think many teams want to play us," said Cork.
The positive mental attitude drummed into the players has coincided with the enlistment of hypnotist Ron Cole and question and answer sessions under the direction of club historian David Farmer, a Swansea director.
While Cork recognises the link, he is quick to point to the fact that for all the backroom help his strikers need to start scoring more goals.
"We seem to have been relying on wing backs to score when it should be midfield players and strikers," said Cork.
One of his wing backs, Jonathan Coates, could be pushed further forward tonight if Richie Appleby is ruled unfit.
Fears about the fitness of Appleby, who has a groin problem, have prompted Cork to put former Tranmere left-back Mike Howard on stand-by for a League debut.
Notts County have top scorer Gary Jones fit again but wing back Dennis Pearce is rated doubtful with an ankle injury.
STEVE Jones took another giant stride on the road to recovery this week as Alan Cork offered him a new job -- as a part-time scout.
The 27-year-old full-back, who broke his right leg in the play-off semi-final against Chester nine months ago, will be casting his expert eye over likely recruits in the Cheltenham and Swindon areas.
''Steve lives in the area so it seemed an ideal opportunity to do a bit of scouting now that he is back on his feet. It also keeps him active and feeling involved,'' explained the Swansea manager.
Jones is looking forward to the new challenge which will help to take his mind off the long and often lonely hours of rehabilitation designed to get him back in shape for pre-season training in July.
The latest in a series of operations lengthened the tendons in his foot which makes walking and climbing up and down stairs much more bearable.
''I've still not got 100 per cent feeling back in my foot but the operation has strengthened my toes. I used to feel disabled whenever I walked up stairs sideways but it is easier now,'' he admitted.
Jones has been back in the Leisure Centre gym for the past month and this week was spotted for the first time running on the beach.
Next week he hopes to try on a pair of boots again for the first time although he admits his right foot is still swollen.
Even if he succeeds Jones will not be kicking a ball again for sometime. The nearest he has got so far is a game of head tennis with team-mates.
''I'm not in any rush. Mike Davenport, our physio, will make sure of that. I'm just looking to pre-season training. Anything beyond that will be a bonus,'' he said.
''When I look back at what has happened I realise that I am lucky because if the surgeon had not carried out a second operation 12 hours after the first when complications set in last May I would have lost my leg,'' he revealed.
Everything different he does now represents a huge step forward on the road to resuming what was turning into a successful playing career.
''Of course I want to play again but I'm not thinking about competitive matches at the moment. Until I start sprinting and turning sharply in five a side games I don't really know how the leg will stand up,'' he said.
JASON Price was halfway through a mechanical engineering course when he decided to put the text books away and buy a new pair of football boots.
It's an investment the Swansea City defender has never had a moment's heartache over.
Now, more than two years later, the 20-year-old has established himself in manager Alan Cork's new order but still has to pinch himself occasionally at his good fortune.
''A lot has happened very quickly but I'm learning something new all the time and I'm really enjoying my football,'' said Price.
''I looked at the situation last summer and thought if I played 10 games this season I'd be lucky. Now here I am having played more than 30 matches and I've got a new contract,'' he added.
Price has good cause to relish regular first-team involvement. Swansea have just rewarded his effort and talent with an agreement which extends to June 2001.
He is one of the new breed in whom Swansea are placing such great faith as they embark on what promises to be an exciting journey into the next century with decisions imminent on the proposed move to Morfa.
The rewards, though, have probably come a little earlier than Price could reasonably have anticipated as he weighed up his options in the summer of 1995 after former Swansea coach Jimmy Rimmer spotted him playing for Aberaman.
''I'd just finished my first year at college and was undecided about whether to stay on. But I wanted to have a crack at playing football professionally and when the chance came the pull was too strong,'' he said.
This time last year Price was busy cutting his teeth in the reserves, gaining valuable experience in the Football Combination before starting a League match for the first time as Swansea stepped up their bid to reach the play-offs.
Although that was an unhappy experience -- Swansea lost 4-0 at Lincoln -- there was not much doubt among the backroom staff that Price would eventually break through.
However, with the dependable Steve Jones ever present at right-back the opportunities for Price looked to be extremely limited until tragedy struck in the play-off semi-final against Chester last May.
Jones broke his right leg, missed out on a Wembley appearance and has been told that he will not play again until next season.
Finding a replacement was never going to be easy whoever was in charge and Price admits that he was not certain of his place at the start of the season despite optimistic noises from the Swansea management.
''It was between me, Damian Lacey and Rob King. I always felt the three of us would be fighting it out for Steve's place,'' recalled Price.
In the end it came down to Price v Lacey with Price getting the nod at the start of the campaign before a change of manager brought a change in both personnel and formation.
Cork switched from an orthodox back four to the modern trend of two wing backs, but was quick to appreciate that with so many young players around team selection required careful consideration.
He has frequently left out his younger brigade when he has detected signs of tiredness and insists they were all rested not dropped.
Price was certainly desperate for a break when Cork arrived on the scene last October but was nonetheless disappointed when he was left out.
''To be honest, I was gutted,'' he admitted. ''But I know the manager did the right thing. Being left out made me more determined to get my place back.
''I'm certain the rest did me good because I'm back playing better than before,'' said Price who scored the winner at Colchester and the midweek equaliser against Bangor.
Despite the stamina-sapping role he relishes, Price believes he is capable of scoring more goals.
''I love getting forward but if the chance I had against Bangor had come along earlier in the season it would probably have ended up in the East Stand. Now I'm much more confident about scoring,'' he said.
Cork is convinced that, given time and patience, Price could develop into one of the best wing backs around.
''It's the hardest job in football. You've got to be an athlete to get up and down the line but you need a good attitude as well.
"It's the type of role that makes you stronger mentally if you tackle it right,'' said the manager.
At the moment everything seems to be falling neatly into place for the player who swapped the mechanics of engineering for those of a wing-back.
JULIAN Alsop looks set to remain at Swansea City for a second month after Bristol Rovers revealed that they are prepared to release the 6ft 4in striker.
But while manager Alan Cork has not ruled out a permanent move, Rovers insisted today that they were not interested in a swap deal involving goalkeeper Lee Jones, currently on loan with them.
Rovers seem unlikely to block a move to extend Alsop's loan agreement after confirming that Alsop is available at a negotiable fee thought to be around £25,000.
Swansea believe they need his physical presence beyond Saturday's match at Leyton Orient to take in key games against Third Division leaders Notts County, Exeter, Lincoln and Cardiff.
Alsop has quickly become a huge favourite with the Swansea fans after scoring twice in five League games and would jump at the chance of a move if it guaranteed first-team football.
Swansea face tough away games against Leyton Orient and Notts County in the space of four days but Cork believes his players will bounce back after the disappointment of losing 1-0 to Peterborough who admitted they were lucky to win.
"Before Christmas, I was never quite sure what would happen next game but now I know the players will give me a performance. It makes my job a lot easier," he said.
New Cardiff manager Frank Burrows, who is expected to name former Swansea assistant Billy Ayre as his No. 2, is targeting three players he once signed for Swansea Steve Torpey, John Cornforth and out-of-favour Swansea midfielder Kwame Ampadu.
Cornforth looks set to be reunited with Barry Fry at Peterborough after making his debut on loan from Wycombe at Vetch Field on Saturday.
Cornforth said he was moved by the reception he received from the Swansea fans.
"I've heard about the Cardiff interest but I won't be joining them. Once a Jack always a Jack," said Cornforth.
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