At 4.52pm last Saturday afternoon, referee Roger East blew the full-time whistle at the London Stadium to thunderous acclaim. West Ham United clinched a dramatic victory over Swansea City, with Diafra Sakho scoring a late winner for the Hammers.

As the home fans roared jubilantly from the stands, Slaven Bilić celebrated with his coaching staff in relief more than anything else. Three points somewhat eased the pressure on the West Ham manager, but for Paul Clement in the away dugout, it was that familiar sinking feeling.

Whereas Bilić could afford a smile in his post-match press conference, Clement looked displeased as he faced some hard truths.

The main one is that his Swansea side are facing a long, hard season, the overriding narrative of which is likely to be a scrap to avoid relegation. With just one win and five points from their first seven games, the prognostication for the Welsh side is decidedly bleak.

And while Swansea's misfiring strikers must shoulder some of the blame for their insipid performances of late, the midfield is also a major concern for Clement.

Here, Football Whispers takes a look at why transforming the midfield could hold the key to a Swansea revival this season.

Worrying Dearth of Creativity

For much of the summer, the inevitable departure of Gylfi Sigurðsson hung over the Liberty Stadium like a bad smell. Although the deal that took him to Everton for £45million was protracted, when it finally went through Swansea were forced to accept the idea that they would be tackling this season without their inspirational creative force in midfield.

Unfortunately, the Sigurðsson-shaped hole has been glaring and unavoidable during a string of toothless displays in which the midfield has looked desperately short on ideas.

In fact, no team has created fewer chances than Swansea this season. With just 26, they're five behind Leicester City. Interestingly, Crystal Palace, who are rooted to the bottom of the table without a point or a goal, have created more than double Swansea's chances with 58.

The Eagles obviously haven't been converting the chances they've created, but at least they are manufacturing promising situations in the final third. In time, you would have to think, goals will come for Palace, but will the creative juices once again flow at the Liberty Stadium?

Since Swansea were promoted to the Premier League under Brendan Rodgers in 2011, they have established themselves as one of the more aesthetically-pleasing sides to watch. Under Rodgers, Michael Laudrup and Garry Monk, Swansea espoused an overtly attacking philosophy, an attractive brand of football built on flowing passing moves and electric pace on the wings.

However, somewhere along the way, as the Welsh club switched from Laudrup to Monk, then to Francesco Guidolin and Bob Bradley, that sense of adventure dissipated.

Now, Clement faces an uphill struggle as he aims to inject new ideas into his Swansea vision. They'll need to use the ball better for a start. The South Wales side's average of 77 per cent passing accuracy is their lowest in six years as a Premier League club. Compare that to 85 per cent in the 2012/13 season under Laudrup and it reveals a marked decrease in quality on the ball.

With Sigurðsson out of the picture and veteran midfielder Leon Britton somewhat out of favour, getting the ball up to the likes of Tammy Abraham and Wilfried Bony has become a torturous process.

Abraham has bagged himself two goals already this season. The 20-year-old is certainly a bright prospect and has shown a clinical touch, but he and Bony cannot be expected to fire Swansea to safety without adequate service.

Roque Mesa Needs To Play

After Swansea signed Roque Mesa from Las Palmas, Clement issues a word of warning. “It is going to take him a bit of time to adapt to the tempo of this league,” the 45-year-old said.