Clement salutes Swans as Baggies are beaten

Paul Clement saluted his players after Swansea City ended their seven-game Premier League winless streak by beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0.

An 81st-minute goal from Wilfried Bony proved the difference on a day when the Swans battled hard to secure only their third top-flight victory of the season.

It was a cagey, tense game, but the Swans offered more than their opponents going forward, and should really have scored a second goal when Tammy Abraham raced clear at the end but pulled his shot wide.

In the end, though, Bony’s second goal in a week – and his first at the Liberty since he rejoined the Swans in August – was enough to lift Clement’s men off the bottom of the table.

“It’s a nice feeling to have got that result,” the Swans manager said.

“I think a mixture of frustration that’s built up over the last few weeks and the elation of getting a goal at a crucial moment came out of me when we scored.

“It was a scrappy game, but we have come out on the wrong end of enough tight games and I thought we deserved it today.

“I was pleased with the impact of the substitutes who came on. The starting XI got us to that point and then all three substitutes had an impact and we got over the line.

“When you are in our position, sometimes you have to grind out a result like that.”

Bottom of the table at the start of the day, the Swans suffered a setback before kick-off as fellow strugglers West Ham chalked up a shock win over Chelsea.

But the West Brom success means the Swans have climbed a place to 19th in the table and remain firmly on the coat-tails of the teams above.

“It was important to get three points, particularly after West Ham won,” Clement added.

“I’ve said it’s important not to get cut adrift, and we are right in the pack at the bottom now.

“It was a much-needed three points and hopefully now we can build some momentum.

“We know we have got a difficult game (at home to Manchester City) on Wednesday, when the best side in the Premier League come here.

“You look at the four games we had leading into Christmas. Some are more winnable than others, and we have taken advantage of one of those games today.

“Now we move on and get ready for Manchester City.”

As tough a challenge as Pep Guardiola’s City will provide, Clement wants his team to build on their first victory in almost two months.

“I have said it before. I said it after Huddersfield and Bournemouth, but we didn’t take the opportunity to build on those results,” he said.

“But now have got the win and we have to move forward.”