Swansea owed fans 'big performance' - Darling

Harry Darling feels Swansea City players owed fans a "big performance" against Stoke City following their three-game winless run after beating Cardiff City in March.

Liam Cullen, Matt Grimes and Josh Key all scored as the Swans thumped the Potters 3-0 to go seven points clear of the Championship relegation zone with four matches left to play this season.

Victory over Steven Schumacher's outfit came just four days after a disappointing 2-0 loss at Middlesbrough - with head coach Luke Williams branding his side's performance at Riverside Stadium "unacceptable".

And Darling stated that improved intensity levels were key in Swansea's triumph against relegation-threatened Stoke.

"The last few results haven't gone our way so we knew we needed to give a big performance, not only for us but for the fans as well, and I think we did that," said the defender.

"We've probably been missing that (intensity) in the last few weeks if we're brutally honest with ourselves.

"To give that performance, I think everyone can see the levels we can hit and what we're capable of and we need to start doing that more often than not.

"You can see by the performance, if we play like that with that intensity I think we're as good as anyone in the league. That puts us in good stead for next year."

With safety in the second tier all-but secured, Darling admits he feels Williams is the right man to lead Swansea to better times in the future.

"The gaffer's been brilliant with us. When we get it right... you can really see how well we play," added Darling.

"Everyone loves the gaffer, he's brilliant with every player and I definitely think he's the right man."