Andre Ayew's praise for Cooper and staff

Andre Ayew has praised the job Steve Cooper has done at Swansea City as they prepare to discover their Championship play-off fate at Reading tonight (7.30pm).

The Swans head to the Madejski Stadium knowing they need to win - and hope results elsewhere go their way - in order to finish in the top six.

Few pundits had predicted the Swans would be in the promotion shake-up at the start of the season, but they have never been out of the top half of the table and have always either been in the promotion places or within reach of the top six.

They would love to snatch a play-off spot at the death, and Ayew believes any outcome is possible in such an unpredictable division.

But, regardless of the final outcome, the Swans’ topscorer and vice-captain has nothing but praise for Cooper’s efforts during his first season in management at senior level.

“I’m impressed by the gaffer and his staff. They have done a great job and it’s not easy when it’s your first year and you have a lot of young players around,” said Ayew.

“He has quality and you can see we have an identity and style of play. We have a lot of young players and he believes in youth and making players better.

“We have progressed in the tactical side too. It’s true we’ve had ups and downs but when you have a team with a lot of young players you can’t get everything straight away.

“You have ups and downs before you get to a consistent level and I think that’s where we’ve got to after the coronavirus.

“After the Luton game we’ve raised our performances to a certain level and they’ve stayed there. To get to that level is what he (Cooper) was planning from the start – it’s about scoring goals and playing football on the ground.

“His message is coming across really well and I’m happy to have met him and worked with him. He’s got great ideas and I think he’s going to be a big manager in the future.”