Swansea City: Ex-boss John Toshack thinks Swans will be relegated

John Toshack in the dug-out at the Vetch Field as Swansea manager in a match against Liverpool

Former Wales manager John Toshack thinks Swansea City will be relegated from the Premier League.

The former Swans boss also questioned whether Paul Clement was the correct appointment at the Liberty Stadium.

"I don't like to be negative but I don't really see signs of Swansea pulling out of there," he said.

The ex-Liverpool striker also told BBC Wales Sport he believes the Anfield club have the most chance of catching Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Survival for the Swans 'difficult'

Toshack, who managed Swansea from 1978-83 and guided them from the Fourth Division to the summit of the First Division, is concerned his former club will be unable to pull themselves out of the relegation zone.

"It (Premier League survival) is going to be very difficult," he said.

"Usually you can count on one team dropping in there.

"At the moment it looks like three from the bottom four, but maybe a Middlesbrough or a Watford will drop down."

Toshack also questioned the credentials of Clement, who succeeded Bob Bradley to become the Swans' third manager this season.

"The new manager, they talk a lot about him being at Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Chelsea or whatever, but the managerial experience is nine months as Derby so we are still a little bit uncertain," Toshack said.

"But hopefully he will be able to turn things around. It wasn't the best of starts last week (4-0 against Arsenal).

"You look at the fixtures at the moment and they are very difficult but that might not be a bad thing.

"He will find out a lot of things about his players during those matches, and when the opposition that are not so strong comes around, hopefully that will benefit him.

"We wish him all the best anyway."

A difficult situation at all levels

Toshack says instability throughout the club, including off the field, has hurt Swansea's prospects.

Swansea are under new ownership this season following a takeover by American investors Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien.

"When you have three different managers, or coaches as they call them these days, it's very difficult at Swansea as well what has happened at boardroom level," he said.

"They have done a terrific job there through Huw (Jenkins) and Martin (Morgan).

"It's a difficult situation at the moment at Swansea at all levels.

"We just hope they can get themselves sorted out in an intelligent manner right through the club and dig in and stick in there. They still have got possibilities."

John Toshack scored 96 goals for Liverpool

Liverpool can still win the title

Toshack, who made 246 appearances for Liverpool between 1970-1978, winning the First Division title three times, believes his former club can still catch Chelsea, even though Antonio Conte's side are currently seven points ahead of Liverpool and second-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

"The manager they have got at the moment has certainly got them all going there and they are within a realistic chance of winning the championship this year," he said of Jurgen Klopp's men.

"Since Chelsea changed their system... they have done very well.

"I think it's Chelsea's to lose but when you get to the last 10 or 12 matches, strange things can happen and I don't think it's completely over by any means.

"If anyone can challenge Chelsea and pinch it from them, I think it's possibly Liverpool."