The Swans boss was full of praise for his side despite their defeat to Man City
Alan Sheehan, Manager of Swansea City, and Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City
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Alan Sheehan has lavished praise on his Swansea City players following their spirited defeat at the hands of Premier League giants Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Goncalo Franco's stunner handed the hosts an early lead, before goals from Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki sealed what was ultimately a deserved win for Pep Guardiola's men.
Nevertheless, Sheehan was full of praise for his side's efforts on the night.
"I'm very proud, very proud of the team, the football club, the fans," he said. "How everybody conducted themselves tonight. The atmosphere was wonderful.
"I think we started the game incredibly well on the front foot. We went 1-0 up, then with an opportunity to make it 2-0.
"You have to be perfect. You have to be perfect against this kind of team. You have to understand the pressure that they put you under and they camp you into these areas.
"In the end we ran out of a bit of steam."
Sheehan made six changes on the night, with several players given the chance to put their hand up for more regular Championship football.
The likes of Kaelan Casey and Ishe Samuels-Smith both produced accomplished performances. As did winger Melker Widell, and Sheehan admits the competition for places in his squad will stand to benefit them over the coming weeks.
"I was asked the other day if I know my best team and I said I know my best team for every individual game or tried to do that.
"But there's not a lot between some of the starters and the game changers in certain games at the moment. Ultimately we want that competitive squad.
"We've got seven games in 21 days and we can be adaptable. People are getting minutes but we have to keep players fresh in terms of a three-game week.
"We want to keep them fresh and firing and knowing when it's the right time to take players in and the right time to take players out to ultimately try and get the best levels out of these players."
There were also signs of a return to form for Josh Key, who despite being given a torrid time by Doku, produced a superb run to tee up Franco for the opening goal.
It's arguably the sort of run Key hasn't been making in recent weeks, and the player himself has occasionally found himself on the wrong side of criticism during that time.
"He was outstanding. I watched Doku play for Belgium against Wales. He was scary that night and Josh Key was absolutely outstanding.
"Doku is one of the best wingers in the world, and for him to go toe-to-toe with him tonight. He was outstanding."
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