As ever with Swansea City, it was a nervy way to do it.

The edgy 2-2 draw with Reading on Sunday meant head coach Steve Cooper and Co headed back down the M4 with a place in the play-offs secured for the second year running.

Whatever you think of the football Swansea have played and produced in recent times, that is some achievement.

They snuck in last year by the skin of their teeth, ironically at the same ground; this time they will be a touch disappointed they limped over the line and that the top two evaded them when they looked so well set after beating Norwich City 2-0 at the Liberty in early February.

But that's now gone, and with a place at the top table still up for grabs, feeling sorry for yourself isn't what's needed.

They will face one of Bournemouth, Brentford or Barnsley in the semi-finals next month and will hope to go one better and make it to Wembley for a chance to play in the Premier League once again.

Bookmakers have already made it clear they don't fancy Swansea, and perhaps their opponents may feel that facing the Swans right now is the lesser of three so-called evils. The Cherries have hit form at the right time, the Bees play excellent football while the Tykes are riding the crest of an unexpected wave.

Swansea have stuttered in recent weeks and their vulnerabilities have risen to the surface just at a time when composure was required. It is perhaps only natural then that their rivals may prefer to face a team who have endured a bit of a wobble.

But if they do hold those thoughts perhaps they should watch the final 30-odd drama-filled minutes of the match at the Madejski Stadium - for it included a display of real individual quality that inspired the collective.

With Swansea trailing on the hour mark, Cooper turned to his talisman to salvage the game.

Andre Ayew has been left on the bench, still recuperating from a hamstring injury picked up against Wycombe, and the head coach would no doubt have wanted for him to remain there. But needs must, he summoned the Ghanaian.

Quite simply, he changed the game. There was an uplift almost immediately from the away side. He produced an outrageous bit of skill in the build-up to the equaliser, dragging the ball back with a deft flick and nutmegging his opponent in the process to set Jay Fulton on his way to goal. A moment of magic that hammered home what he is capable of.

He was then in the right place at the right time to fire home the second with less than 10 minutes to go. Like all good players, Ayew has that knack of appearing right where you want him at the precise moment you require him.

Despite being on the field for little over half an hour, he was Swansea's star man.

So many times this season Ayew has popped up with match-winning contributions, and although it would be highly unfair to call Swansea a one-man team, this one man makes a huge difference to this team. He has sixteen strikes to his name but in truth he's more than just goals.

He said after the match: “I am very happy we are in the play-offs. That was the objective at the start of the season, and we need to keep going and get ready for the play-offs.

“There is a chance to build momentum and finish higher in the table. We will keep going.

“It’s great to be in the play-offs a few weeks before because we can really get ready for what’s coming. We need to use that to our advantage.”

Cooper will no doubt place the 31-year-old in cotton wool for the remainder of the campaign, with matches against Derby County and Watford still to come.

This writer stated earlier in the season that in Ayew Swansea possessed the best player in the Championship and despite some superb performers for Norwich City over the course of the campaign, that conviction still holds true.

Bournemouth's squad is littered with Premier League quality - David Brooks is a top-flight superstar in the making - while Brentford's Ivan Toney will be plying his trade in the top tier come what may this May.

But in Ayew Swansea boast an international captain with 90-odd caps for his country who has commanded transfer fees totalling around £50million over the course of his career (with generous loan and signing-on fees taken into consideration). He has played in the Premier League, Champions League and international tournaments. He has literally been there, done that.

He may have cost Swansea an arm and a leg in wages over the last few years but it they can win the jackpot £200million game at Wembley next month it will all be worth it. He has been unfairly labelled a mercenary in the past but his effort, professionalism and work ethic dispelled any notion that he was simply here to pick up his pay packet. Watch any display of his and you can tell he cares for this cause.

With a couple of weeks' rest ahead, Ayew should be fit and firing come the semi-finals. Brentford, Bournemouth and Barnsley could well be thinking twice about Swansea then.

Granted, they haven't been firing on all cylinders in recent times. But in Ayew, Swansea always have a chance. Always.