Andre Ayew tips Swansea manager for success

Swansea City star Andre Ayew has hailed the impact of coach Steve Cooper, exclaiming he will be a prominent manager in the future.

The 40-year old Welshman joined the Swans last summer after spending four years with the England Under-17 side, leading them to World Cup glory in 2017, where they beat Spain 5-2 in the final.

Cooper has been heavily involved with youth in his managerial career including at Liverpool, where he managed the likes of Raheem Sterling and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

He has continued with that tradition at Swansea, mixing a core of young players with the experience of players like Ayew and Wayne Routledge, and the South Wales outfit has a slim chance of making the promotion play-offs with one more Championship round to go.

"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," Ayew told BBC Sport.

"He has quality and you can see we have an identity and style of play.

"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.

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

Ayew acknowledged experience is needed to make it into the top-flight and is satisfied with the squad, particularly how fast the younger players have grown.

"The quality is there but to get into the Premier League you need quality, young players and experience," Ayew continued.

"When you want to win and get to another level, you need experience in your squad.

"Maybe we needed a few more to add to what we have already, but I'm happy with what I've seen.

"The boys have grown quickly and I hope it's not too late for this season.”

Swansea travel to Reading on the final day of the season and while they will need to do all to win, they will need their rivals Cardiff City to lose at home to relegation-threatened Hull City.

"We're not going to think about next season, we're going to think about this one because it's still on,” the Ghana captain stated.

"We know in football when you are playing a team who is fighting for their lives, it's very difficult.

"We have to do our job because if something happens there [Cardiff] and we don't get the three points, we'll be disappointed."