Youssouf Mulumbu’s late strike gave Pepe Mel his first win as West Bromwich manager and may have kept the Spaniard in his job.

The midfielder’s 85th-minute goal earned Albion their first away win since beating Manchester United under Steve Clarke in September and lifted them out of the relegation zone.

It brought some much-needed relief after a torrid week dominated by speculation about the manager’s future and the sacking of controversial striker Nicolas Anelka on Friday night.

Rumours from inside the club had suggested Mel could be fired if his side failed to beat Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.

And the visitors had looked to be heading for a fourth defeat in eight games under the former Real Betis manager when Roland Lamah gave Swansea the lead after just two minutes.

But a stunning second-half fightback saw Stephane Sessegnon equalise shortly after half-time before Mulumbu struck the winner.

Mel said: ‘The pressure is the same everywhere, in Spain, England or Germany. This work is dangerous, it is a difficult job but the players are the most important people, I can only help them.

‘I am pleased for the fans and players, we needed to win and in football confidence is everything. Now things will be different, I hope.

‘We talked about our problems at half-time. We only had 45 minutes and it had to change. We needed these three points and I believe we will stay up.

‘But the next game is always the most important. We have Hull next and we need to win again.’

Swansea’s early opener came when Wilfried Bony sent Lamah racing down the left flank, he stepped inside Steven Reid and placed a smart finish into the bottom corner for his first goal since December.

Lamah turned provider on 17 minutes when he whipped a dangerous cross in from the left towards Bony and only a superb save from Ben Foster prevented Swansea doubling their advantage.

The winger then had a chance to grab his second when Jonathan de Guzman picked him out at the back post with a corner but he headed wide.

De Guzman had the best chance of the first half when Lamah sent a perfect ball in from the left but he could only fire wide from close range.

Mel’s half-time team talk clearly worked as West Brom came out firing at the beginning of the second half.

They took advantage of some sloppy Swansea passing to put the home side under pressure and an equaliser came seven minutes after the break.

James Morrison squared the ball to Sessegnon at the edge of the box and he rifled a shot into the bottom corner past Michel Vorm.

Swansea almost hit straight back with a De Guzman free- kick that Foster did well to hold, before the home side thought they should have had a penalty when the ball struck Gareth McAuley’s hand in the box.

De Guzman brought another good save out of Foster with 20 minutes to play but despite the introduction of fit-again striker Michu, Swansea were finding it hard to create any clear goal-scoring opportunities.

The game looked to be heading for a draw until Swansea allowed Mulumbu acres of space to roam forward and he gleefully accepted the invitation before side-footing a shot into the corner to seal all three points.

It was the second consecutive home game Swansea have let a lead slip after they surrendered a one-goal advantage against struggling Crystal Palace in their last league outing.

Defeat leaves Swansea just four points from safety with a tough away fixture to come at Everton next weekend.

Swansea manager Garry Monk said: ‘If you have them on the ropes and you don’t knock them out, you give them a chance of coming back and they did.

‘That was a team scrapping for their lives and we have to match that — you can forget about tactics or style. We need that before we can implement anything else.

‘We were good in the first half and very poor in the second half. This was a wake-up call.’

But a stunning second-half fightback saw Stephane Sessegnon equalise shortly after half-time before Mulumbu struck the winner.

Mel said: ‘The pressure is the same everywhere, in Spain, England or Germany. This work is dangerous, it is a difficult job but the players are the most important people, I can only help them.

‘I am pleased for the fans and players, we needed to win and in football confidence is everything. Now things will be different, I hope.

‘We talked about our problems at half-time. We only had 45 minutes and it had to change. We needed these three points and I believe we will stay up.

‘But the next game is always the most important. We have Hull next and we need to win again.’

—Daily Mail