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So the 'Great Escape' has been achieved. Swansea City, bottom of the Premier League as 2017 dawned, will be in the top-flight for a seventh-straight season after being guided to safety by Paul Clement.

Many felt the 45-year-old was on a hiding to nothing when he succeeded Bob Bradley in early January, but he has overseen a significant turnaround with a 26 point haul from 18 games at the helm.

The former Bayern Munich assistant has been the first to admit he has made mistakes during his time at the Liberty, and there was a worrying run of one point from six games which threatened to derail their survival hopes, but there were several decisions he got right and it make all the difference. Here they are, in no particular order.

Bringing back Leon/adopting the diamond

You could make a case that Clement made a mistake waiting so long to bring club captain Leon Britton back into this starting line-up, but when he eventually selected Swansea City's pass master it paid great dividends.

Britton's return coincided with the move to a midfield diamond as injuries and a lack of form limited Clement's wide options, and this also proved effective as Swansea improved in possession, while Jordan Ayew could provide a pacy foil to Fernando Llorente's physicality up top.

Skipper Britton - the remaining playing link with Swansea's last 'Great Escape' against Hull in 2003 - was an inspirational presence on and off the field.

Off the field he organised team meals, handed out DVDs on the club's history and started the process for the players to pay for the Swansea supporters to head to Sunderland.

On it, he worked tirelessly without the ball, set the tone with it and made a crunching tackle on Idrissa Gueye which lifted his side and the Liberty during an important spell in the vital win over Everton.

Settling on a defensive pairing

(Image: PA)

Clement arrived to find the Premier League's defence waiting for him, having shipped an incredible 18 goals in their previous six games. Their total over the first half of the season was 44 goals conceded. No club had conceded so many at that stage of a season and stayed up.

Those figures had not been helped by an endless chopping and changing of centre-halves. Any number of combinations had been tried but, as Clement saw his new side beat Crystal Palace on the day of his appointment, Federico Fernandez and Alfie Mawson had fine evenings in a crucial win.

Clement recognised it and stuck with them. They have started every Premier League game since, they have not been faultless but just 25 conceded from 18 games makes for far better reading than what went before.

Indeed, they have kept three clean sheets in their last four games

Raising the level of training

This was a concern under Francesco Guidolin, and Bob Bradley was not in charge long enough to make as big an impact as he would have liked on Swansea's fitness.

The problems were noticeable. In Guidolin's final game, against Liverpool, Swansea produced an excellent first-half display, but were like a boxer on the ropes, punched out, by the time the hour mark came and went.

Clement recognised it and took a risk. He and his staff worked the players hard, he admitted it was a tough balancing act as he wanted to avoid injuries, but the dividends have been clear to see.

Swansea have finished games far stronger than they had earlier in the season, and the players came to relish the intense but not overly-long sessions Clement put in place.

Indeed, his handling of training led some members of staff to compare him to Brendan Rodgers. High praise indeed when you consider the affection in which the Northern Irishman is still remembered at the club.

Handing set-piece responsibility to Nigel Gibbs

One area has been Swansea's Achilles heel for as long as they have been in the top-flight; set-piece defending.

Swansea were regularly targeted in this aspect of the game, and were found wanting far too often.

When Clement arrived he gave responsibility - both in attack and defence - to his assistant Giggs, and the former Watford defender has made a major difference.

Under Gibbs, who regularly comes to the edge of the technical area to observe and advise at corners and free-kicks, Swansea have not conceded a single goal from a corner or free-kick.

In addition, the Swans have been a far greater threat at the other end when it comes to set-pieces.

Hiring Claude Makelele

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

The Frenchman was not on Clement's radar, until he rang up his former Chelsea colleague to enquire as to whether there might be a role for him at Swansea.

Within a matter of days it was done, and the players have all spoken about how much they have enjoyed working with the man who defined the defensive midfield role.

The respect he is held in goes without saying, and the little bit of stardust he brings to the training ground helped provide a pick-me-up of sorts. His man management and 'been there. done that' know-how have made him a popular figure.

Going ahead with the signings of Martin Olsson and Tom Carroll

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

Clement arrived days after the January window opened, with some deals already in place after an advanced process that predecessor Bradley had been heavily involved in.

Clement was advised he would have a say on whether to go ahead with the deals for January targets, with the arrivals of Martin Olsson and Tom Carroll among those on the agenda.

But, the new boss had worked with Olsson and consulted Gibbs and Karl Halabi over what they had seen of Carroll at Tottenham and elected to press ahead.

The two new man made an instant impact, making their debuts during the historic win at Anfield, and went on to be key figures during the revival over the second half of the season.

Meeting with supporters

Supporter unrest had been clear to see and hear during Bob Bradley's reign, but with the Swansea City Supporters' Trust kept involved at every stage of the recruitment process, Clement was welcomed with far more goodwill.

His initial impact certainly helped and he met the Trust again shortly after his arrival.

But he was also wise to attend - along with all his assistants, Britton and Jack Cork - a fans' forum in the week of the home win over Burnley.

The line-up, and the genial manner in which they handled questions for some 90 minutes and more gave those in attendance a greater understanding of their new head coach - beyond what they saw on TV.

He still had his critics when form slumped alarmingly, but many were prepared to give him the time to turn things around given he was dealing with a situation where the majority of problems were not of his own making.

This also fostered a sense of unity between players, staff and supporters, something Britton then took the extra mile during the closing weeks of the season to help create memorable Liberty atmospheres against Stoke and Everton.

Defending Fernando Llorente

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

There is no doubt about it, Fernando Llorente was off the pace against Watford. Frank Lampard did not miss it and highlighted the Spaniard's sprint stats from the game (19.2 metres at full speed in 81 minutes).

Llorente had not scored since the win over Burnley, but Clement backed his top scorer to come good. He defended the World Cup winner and got his reward.

The 32-year-old was nearer his best over the final weeks of the season, scoring three goals in four games as survival was secured.

Changing the tone ahead of Stoke

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

When Clement faced the media following the defeats at West Ham and Watford, the spoke of the anxiety his players were feeling as they struggled for results and performances with time running out.

He had tried to keep the pressure off his squad as the games ticked down but, at Vicarage Road, he changed tack.

The 1-0 defeat had barely finished, but the head coach made clear the following weekend's home game against Stoke was a "must win".

The tougher, more direct approach, worked. Swansea took 10 points from four games and survival was assured.