Garry Monk insisted he is a "fighter", and urged Swansea City to stay united, after another worrying defeat added to the pressure on the Swansea manager. He has suffered a troubled nine-game run, during which the team have won just once and lost six times.
Losing to Norwich City is a particularly alarming result. Alex Neil's side had been on a run of their own, of four defeats, before this success, which was earned by Jonny Howson's headed goal punishing poor defending.
Norwich appeared happy to allow Swansea plenty of possession, which only served to highlight the lack of penetration on offer from Monk's men, and then stung the Welsh club with a rare chance. Swansea are badly lacking a focal point to their attack, with Bafe-timibi Gomis continuing in poor form and appearing to have lost confidence.
Monk looked dejected himself as he made a plea for unity. "We have to stick together, we can't point fingers," he said. "Of course, I am concerned. But I am a fighter. We all are. That is what this club has been built on."
He claimed Swansea "had total control of the game," though as Neil pointed out, the statistic that matters is goals scored, not possession. Neil altered his tactical approach and it worked - and he had no sympathy for Monk, his former Barnsley team-mate.
"We had to put our focus on a clean sheet, then have the quality to pick them off," the Norwich manager said. "We have gone back to basics."
The pattern of Swansea having the ball, and falling to use it effectively, was set from the early stages. The best that they could offer in the first half was a too optimistic shot from Gomis, who volleyed over from 30 yards. Norwich's best chance of the opening period was wasted by Cameron Jerome, heading over on the edge of the six-yard box.
Neil's men were more proactive after the interval, and the game started opening up. Swansea displayed a rare moment of class when Wayne Routledge cut the ball across for Gylfi Sigurdsson, whose delicately clipped effort struck the bar and went over.
Norwich, however, were the ones who finally broke through, when Robbie Brady delivered a corner which was met by a cushioned header at the back post from Dieumerci Mbokani to tee up Howson. The Norwich midfielder connected with a header, and the ball went through the legs of Sigurdsson on its way into the net. That was a blow that Swansea, worryingly, could not recover from.