How Vitor Matos has taken Swansea to the top of the Championship

Swansea City are top of the Championship after winning seven of their first 10 league matches under manager Vitor Matos, who says his approach combines lessons from Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool with ideas developed during his coaching career in Portugal and China. [1]

Matos took charge in November 2025, replacing Alan Sheehan, when relegation was a concern. The 38-year-old had managed only 12 senior matches, all in Portugal’s second division, but had spent five years as an elite development coach at Liverpool under Klopp and later worked as Pep Lijnders’ assistant at Red Bull Salzburg.

“Liverpool influenced me a lot in terms of counter-pressing, pressing, intensity, and what makes you grow as a team,” Matos told BBC Sport. He said those principles would underpin Swansea’s play, while stressing that his ideas also reflect other coaching influences.

He said his first priorities at Swansea were to rebuild confidence, encourage a more aggressive game without the ball and settle on a back four. The team’s 4-3-3 is designed to press and counter-press, with the details adapted to the players available.

Matos also draws on his time coaching Porto’s youth sides, where he developed his understanding of positional play, and his experience in China. He said bringing players closer together can create more options against man-to-man pressure, while Swansea use patient combinations and overloads on one side before switching play quickly.

He described full-backs as another way to unsettle opposition defences, because opponents must decide whether and how to press them. Away from tactics, Matos said Klopp’s leadership and care for players had shaped his own management, which he said involves understanding players as individuals as well as footballers. [1]