STAYING UP?
Swans soar out of drop-zone thanks to Llorente’s winner
SWANSEA City boss Paul Clement hailed the “unbelievable” Jack Army after they roared his side on to a 1-0 victory against Everton that sees them climb out of the relegation zone.
The Liberty faithful served up a deafening racket throughout this nerve-shredding tussle, cheering and exhorting their players to get over the line as the Toffees threatened to cancel out Fernando Llorente’s first-half header.
Every tackle, duel and positive piece of play from a white shirt was greeted with roars of approval.
Swans fans can now enjoy their next game, against Sunderland, on the club after Head Coach Paul Clement revealed skipper Leon Britton was behind an idea to pay for supporters’ tickets.
“That was a fantastic win for us, at this point of the season with the stakes so high. But I was confident going into the game because of our last two performances,” he said.
“Coming back here I felt there would be a great atmosphere and our supporters were unbelievable. They got behind our players and helped us against a really good team.
“We got pinned back in the second half but it was a magnificent defensive effort.”
Meanwhile, regarding Britton’s ticket idea, Clement added: “It was Leon’s idea, it is a brilliant idea. It is a shame we cannot bring everyone because if we had what we had today it would a massive help.
“That has been done and organised by the players, led by Leon. We hope they get up their safely.”
Swansea had been given the chance to climb out of the bottom three by Hull’s surprise defeat at home to Sunderland earlier in the day. Clement and his players were aware of the outcome at the KCOM Stadium before taking to the field at the Liberty, and he revealed he had told his stars to only think about winning the first half of their own game, in an effort to keep their minds on the job at hand, rather than getting caught up in the excitement.
“We knew they were playing first, and we said in our pre-match meeting that whatever happens to Hull, we need to win,” he said.
“I just told the players to go out and win the first half, to only think of that, and then the effort and perseverance was excellent.
“But there is no room for complacency.”