IT’S VICTORY FOR THE PC BRIGADE
Clement the trigger for Swan hell of a turnaround
SWANSEA stars celebrated with a lap of honour but in reality only manager Paul Clement should have been on it. Since taking over in January, Clement has taken 29 points from 19 games. And after securing their Premier League status last weekend, Swansea’s final-day victory over Baggies saw them finish 15th and earn an extra £4million in prize money. Considering they were bottom with just 12 points when Clement arrived, it’s been a remarkable turnaround. Clement said: “That’s four wins out of five, with the other one the draw at Manchester United. At any level that’s a really good tally. “To finish with 41 points and in 15th place is very, very pleasing. “This squad can get even better so I don’t envisage massive changes. We want to keep our best players and strengthen, not get weaker.” Swansea’s players had toasted Premier League survival with three days in Ibiza. They looked hung-over in the first half and fell behind when Jonny Evans headed home a Darren Fletcher corner. Salamon Rondon wasted a glorious chance to double West Brom’s lead at the start of the second period. The striker brushed off Federico Fernandez but dawdled and Leon Britton recovered to block his shot. It was a costly miss. Gylfi Sigurdsson’s free-kick was nodded down by Fernando Llorente for the tireless Jordan Ayew to head home his first Swansea goal. Llorente notched the winner with his 15th goal of the season. Clement faces a tough task to keep hold of Tottenham target Sigurdsson. “Gylfi knows he’s wanted here, the fans love him,” he said. “He has to think about whether his future is here or he wants another challenge. “I think he, Fernando and the others have enjoyed the second half of the season. They can see this is a club that should not have been fighting relegation.”