How Swansea City should feel about giving Alan Sheehan full-time job as 17-year record matched | OneFootball

Swansea City surely must appoint Alan Sheehan on a full-time basis after his work as interim boss

Swansea City made it five league wins on the bounce against QPR at Loftus Road on Easter Monday, a result that gives them a genuine chance of finishing in the top ten of the Championship.

It's fair to say that in the dark days of Luke Williams' final weeks at the club, the top ten of the Championship seemed a distant dream, and Swansea were more likely to finish in the relegation zone than the top half of the table.

At the turn of the year, things were falling apart for Swansea, results weren't going their way, the January transfer window seemed underwhelming, and skipper Matt Grimes ended his ten-year stay at the club when he made a shock move to Coventry.

However, under caretaker boss Alan Sheehan, Swansea have been revitalised, so much so they can still technically finish in the play-off places, and the Irishman has surely done enough to become the club's boss on a full-time basis.

Swansea City must appoint Alan Sheehan permanently

Swansea's win at QPR meant it was the first time they've won five league games on the bounce since December 2007, when Roberto Martinez's side were on their way to the League One table - highlighting just how impressive Sheehan's tenure has been.

When the Swans lost to Stoke in the middle of February in Williams' last game, they had lost seven of their last nine games and were in 17th place, slowly sleepwalking to League One, and the turnaround under Sheehan has been nothing short of incredible.

Swansea have won seven, drawn two and lost just two of the games Sheehan's overseen, a run of form which puts them third in the Championship since the Irishman took charge, a remarkable achievement which quickly allayed any fears of relegation.

Sheehan's time in charge has gone better than anyone could have expected, and while the 38-year-old did a decent job as caretaker last season, he's clearly taken the Swans to the next level this time around.

Of course, there will be fears that Swansea's run of form is purely down to a new manager bounce, but we're 11 games into Sheehan's reign now and their impressive form shows no sign of slowing down.

Swansea have had some great moments since December 2007 when they last won five on the bounce, but the fact it's been 18 years since they last managed it shows what an excellent job Sheehan is doing at the Swansea.com Stadium, and not appointing him on a full-time basis would be a risk at this stage.

Swansea City may regret it if they don't appoint Alan Sheehan

Recent reports have linked Hammarby IF boss Kim Hellberg with the permanent vacancy at the Swansea.com Stadium, and while the Swedish boss looks like a decent manager, appointing him could be a risk.

Sheehan has shown he can get results at Championship level, and should Hellberg or anyone else come in and start poorly next season, pressure will soon mount on the new boss and Swansea's hierarchy will come in for criticism.

We're at the stage where Sheehan can't do much more to get the job on a full-time basis, and appointing him feels like less of a risk than bringing in a new manager in from externally.

Some supporters would have raised eyebrows earlier in the season when it emerged that Sheehan was reportedly a candidate to replace Mark Robins at Coventry City, but in hindsight you can see why he was on the Sky Blues' radar.

If Swansea don't appoint the former Luton defender, then it feels like only a matter of time until he gets a job elsewhere in the Championship, and Portsmouth have been named as one of the sides who are keeping tabs on his situation in South Wales.

If the Swans don't appoint him, and he goes on to impress elsewhere in the division, then they'll be left to rue their decision not to appoint him on a full-time basis, and you feel as if Richard Montague has an easy decision to make so early in his tenure as the club's new Director of Football.

Appointing the caretaker manager who has done well over a short period of time is always a risk, but Sheehan's 11 games in charge and five-game winning streak makes it a no-brainer for Swansea not to appoint him.