Coach John Longmire admits Sydney have lost their ruthless edge as they face the near-unimaginable prospect of back-to-back losses against the two AFL teams expected to battle it out for the wooden spoon.
The winless Swans remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder after last weekend's horror 21-point loss to unfancied Carlton.
Next up is a home clash against Brisbane, a team who haven't beaten the Swans in nine attempts dating back to 2010.
"I'm confident we can rediscover the form that we need to rediscover and I'm confident that our group have been able to deliver for a long time and I'm confident that we can get up and deliver again," Longmire said on Wednesday.
"But there is a time when we need to actually go out on the ground and display the sort of football that we know we can.
"We've said that before and we haven't delivered."
Longmire has shown little inclination to axe any under-performing stars, as North Melbourne did to such good effect last week with former skipper Andrew Swallow and forward Lindsay Thomas.
"It's not so much searching for answers," he said.
"We know we're not playing trademark football, that ruthless hard edge, so we know what the problem is."
Longmire branded the round-six defeat to Carlton as unacceptable, but used much stronger language in private to his players.
The Swans' run of six straight finals series under Longmire is almost certain to end this year, despite them beginning the season as genuine title contenders.
The coach said he understood the specific scrutiny of his position, but stressed there was a collective responsibility to drag Sydney out of the mire.
"Obviously it's a bit more pointed as a coach, I understand that, everyone understands that," Longmire said.
"But we've enjoyed some fantastic times at this football club as a collective and we'll work through the tough times and the challenging times as a collective.
"That's what good clubs do."
Speedster Gary Rohan will miss Sunday's match at the SCG after suffering whiplash in a nasty collision with Carlton's Sam Rowe.
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