Nathan Dyer admits Swansea need to go back to basics if they are to rediscover their best form, starting with the Europa League meeting with Kuban Krasnodar.
Having won the Capital One Cup last season and finished in the top half of the Barclays Premier League, some were predicting Swansea as potential top-six finishers this time round.
That sort of form has yet to materialise, and the latest chapter in a run of uninspired recent performances came in Sunday's south Wales derby defeat to fierce rivals Cardiff.
While the Swans sit top of Group A in the Europa League, their draw with Kuban in Swansea has allowed Valencia to close to within a point of Michael Laudrup's side, but they know a win in Russia could be enough to earn them a place in the knockout stages.
Dyer knows an improvement on recent form is needed, particularly after the hurt of losing at Cardiff City Stadium.
"After a loss like that you are down yourself as well as the fans - it is not just them who are hurting," he said. "You don't want to talk about it so you just try to keep away and let it cool down for a bit.
"Collectively we weren't as good as we have been before. Everyone was down in the dressing room - we were not happy at all. There's not much more you can say. It's a loss, but it's one of the worst losses because of who we were playing against and the stature of the game.
"I wouldn't say we have played anywhere near the level we managed last season as a team. Maybe in patches in games we have played well, maybe in one half or for 30 minutes, but as yet we have not hit our best form throughout a game. That's what we are looking for."
While the likes of Wilfried Bony, Jordi Amat, Alvaro Vazquez, Jose Canas, Jonjo Shelvey, Dwight Tiendalli and Alejandro Pozeulo are among the additions to the Swans squad for this season, Dyer does not believe the arrival of several new faces is responsible for a testing start to the season.
"Everyone has gelled now - it is not a case of new players needing to settle in," he said. "I just feel that we need to go back to basics. We have to work hard as a team, from the front to the back, and we have to be together.
"The possession has changed a little bit. Everyone is used to us playing short and sharp passes but I think that has changed with the manager wanting us to penetrate more through the defence and play more through balls. That aspect has changed a little bit, although we still know how to keep the ball.
"Pressing-wise I feel we need to do that higher up the pitch, but everyone has to do it otherwise it doesn't work."
Source: PA
