Swansea City star Andre Ayew has hailed Steve Cooper as a ‘quality coach’.
The attacker has praised the manager and his staff for the way they have put the team together in their first season.
Swansea play as guest to Reading at the Madejski Stadium at 7:30 pm tonight in the final game of the season as the Welsh club is competing for the final play-off spot with Cardiff.
Ayew’s Swansea sit seventh in the table whilst sixth-placed Cardiff have a three-point advantage.
The Swans will need to win – and hope results elsewhere go their way – in order to finish in the top six.
But, regardless of tonight’s outcome, Andre Ayew has praised 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.”
Meanwhile, Steve Cooper has disclosed that Swansea City will hold talks with Andre Ayew once the current campaign comes to an end.
Ayew who has been a mainstay in Steve Cooper’s side has one year left to run on his contract. His form this season has generated interest from clubs in the Premier League and overseas.
Due to that, the Welsh club wants to tie the Ghana international attacker down to ward off interest.