Vitor Matos expects the logjam at the top of the Championship to ease as the season continues – and says Swansea City's task is to ensure they are not left behind.

Swansea have slipped to fifth in the second tier after the midweek round of fixtures, but would be top of the pile had they won their game at Portsmouth.

Only two points currently separate the Championship's top five, while leaders Middlesbrough are just six points better off than Pompey in 10th.

Swansea have been in the top two for much of the season so far, but have slipped down the table having suffered three defeats in their past four games.

Even so, they could return to the summit if they win at third-placed Birmingham City on Saturday and other results go their way.

"It's really tight," said Swansea head coach Matos.

"I think it will take a little bit of time until [the teams] start to spread more.

"What we need is to try to stay calm, focus on what we can do better and what we need to do to be competitive, and then step by step stay around this group of teams and then we'll see how it ends."

Swansea's current run – their worst since Matos took charge last November – began with home defeat by West Ham last month.

They were then thrashed at Queens Park Rangers before responding with a resounding home win against Blackburn last weekend, but could not build on that success as two stoppage-time goals earned Portsmouth victory on Tuesday.

Matos has once again stressed the need for his players to remain "emotionally stable" as they look to stay in the automatic promotion race.

"As more games come, [the table] starts to be more clear in terms of where each team can sit," he added.

"I think that's what will happen until the Christmas period and then when the Championship flips [in the second half of the season]. It's always like that. Even Premier League is like that.

"At the moment for us, we focus on what we can do better and what we can do to be really competitive against any type of opposition."