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Paul Clement has been told he will be backed in the January transfer window – if he can keep Swansea City in with a fighting chance of avoiding relegation following the dramatic late win over West Brom.

Clement has been supported by the Swans board despite form that had seen them plunge to the bottom of the Premier League table going into the crunch clash with fellow strugglers Albion.

But there has been growing suggestions that defeat to Alan Pardew’s side could have placed the former Real Madrid No.2 in danger of losing his Liberty position.

Jason Levien, one of the Swans’ majority shareholding partners, had flown in from the United States only adding to the speculation that the game was make-or-break for the head coach.

But Wilfried Bony’s 81st minute goal – celebrated wildly by Clement – has eased that pressure, with Swansea back in touching distance of safety.

Clement said Levien had made the unplanned visit as a show of support, akin to that of the trip by owner Steve Kaplan at Burnley last month.

(Image: PA)

Sources maintain that there is no appetite to make a further managerial change having hired Clement 11 months ago following the short-lived reigns of Francesco Guidolin, the ex-Derby manager having successfully steered the side away from relegation with an impressive second-half of the campaign.

And there is a belief that significant money will be made available for the upcoming transfer window following an acceptance that the squad was left short by the summer business.

However, with three further games before Christmas and then two festive fixtures before the New Year transfer window opens, the transfer plans are likely to be altered should Swansea look cut adrift.

Clement referenced the need to stay in the mix as he spoke after the West Brom win, Swansea’s first in eight games and a result that lifted them back above Crystal Palace and just one point off Albion in 17th. Six points currently separate Everton in tenth and the Swans in 19th.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

Asked whether he was fearful of his position as Swansea struggled to find a breakthrough before Bony’s goal – his first back at the Liberty as a Swans player in his second spell – Clement said: “I don’t think like that. I would have been worried to have come in and seen the other results and us still on nine points with three games to go until half way, that would have been my concern. But not about my position.

“I don’t think it takes pressure off, it’s more about building confidence at a time we really needed. Confidence can come and go, it’s never a set level. It’s been down recently but the players stood up today put a lot of effort in. Some of the football was good, some of it not so good, some was really positive, some was apprehensive, in the end th most important thing was to get the positive result.

"Hopefully we can build on it but we’ve said this before – Huddersfield and Bournemouth were both opportunities to build on and we haven’t taken them. Today we grafted for the victory, we got it and now we have to move forward.”