Swansea City supporters would have been quietly optimistic going into the month of October after a decent start to the season, but the last month has been a huge wake-up call for the club.

The Swans failed to score a single goal during the month of October, an embarrassing statistic, and it means that going into November, Swansea are looking over their shoulders at clubs in the relegation zone rather than looking up at the play-offs.

Luke Williams’ side have created chances but been unable to finish them off and while they’ve been solid defensively, you can’t win games of football without scoring goals.

It means that Saturday’s trip to Oxford United has become a huge game, and probably a must win to stop their slide down the Championship table and to restore some confidence.

Swansea are the lowest goalscorers in the division by some considerable distance, having scored just eight goals in 12 games, and a few goals at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday would certainly be welcomed by the Jack Army.

Swansea City could regret summer transfer call against Oxford United

Swansea were briefly linked with a move for Oxford United striker Mark Harris in the summer, according to Alan Nixon, and while most Swans supporters turned their noses up at the potential signing, the club may well regret not making more of an effort to bring the Welshman back to his homeland.

The two main reasons why some Swansea supporters didn’t want to sign Harris was the fact that he used to play for bitter rivals Cardiff City, and because his Championship goalscoring record was poor, but he’s made a decent start to life in the second tier this season.

Harris has scored four times in the Championship this season, more than any Swansea player, and half of what they’ve scored in total. If Swansea fail to score again on Saturday, and the Welsh international scores against them, there may well be serious regrets amongst the club’s hierarchy.

The Swansea-born striker scored four in his first four Championship games this season, and while he’s going through something of a barren run, he’s proven that he can be a real asset at this level.

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Being a Swansea boy who played for Cardiff, Harris will no doubt be relishing the chance to come up against Swansea on Saturday, and if he was to find the back of the net, it would only rub salt into the wounds of supporters.

With just Liam Cullen and Zan Vipotnik as recognised strikers for Swansea, adding an experienced EFL player like Harris could have been a decent option, and it’s clear that they’re lacking firepower up front.

In hindsight, Harris would have been a decent addition for the Swans, but instead they’re preparing to face him this weekend, knowing that he could well make their current woes even worse if he scores for Oxford United.

Mark Harris has proved a point in the Championship this season

Harris won the Championship Player of the Month award for August, something which not too many people would have expected before the season started.

It’s easy to forget that the striker is only 25, as it feels like he’s been around for a long time, but he’s shown both during the end of the League One season and start of the current campaign that he can be a prolific goalscorer as well as being someone who works hard.

He’d scored just nine Championship goals in 87 appearances during his time at Cardiff City, but the move to Oxford United in the summer of 2023 has given him a new lease of life.

Given his Cardiff City links, it remains to be seen whether Swansea would have been successful in their pursuit of Harris anyway, but as someone who comes from the city, he may well have relished the chance to play for them.

The irony shouldn’t be lost on supporters that a local boy who hails from the city is scoring goals elsewhere while Swansea desperately struggle for goals, and he could well make matters even worse should he find the back of the net come Saturday lunchtime.