CLEM’S SWAN-NIL UP ON SPANIARD

PAUL CLEMENT reckons that he has at least one edge over Pep Guardiola, thanks to years spent with chalk in his hand rather than a ball at his feet.

Guardiola may have the highest playing pedigree with Barcelona, but Clement – who takes Swansea to Manchester City today – insists his background as a classroom teacher means coaching held no fears.

The former assistant to Carlo Ancelotti, at Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, never rose above amateur level as a player with Corinthian Casuals.

But he said: “The advantage of having not played at the high level and going into coaching is that, while those people were busy playing the game, that was a period when I was learning to be a coach.

“I never played at any great level. I was actually playing quite a lot of other sports as well as football. Due to injuries and my other profession as a teacher, I needed to stop. When your love or hobby affects your profession, it’s not good. So, I decided to be a teacher and a coach and focus on that.”

The 45-year-old (above) has a scholarly approach, like a younger English version of Arsene Wenger.

And it was the Arsenal boss who gave Clement a 4-0 thrashing in his first match in charge of the Swans.

But stunning back-to-back victories over Liverpool and Southampton have transformed their chances of survival.

He admitted: “The disadvantage is that I didn’t play at that level where you really know and smell what it feels like to be out there.

“Carlo was asked about the difference between having played at the top level and having not.

“He didn’t think it made any difference to coaching at all. The only difference is you know what it feels like as a player to have a longterm injury, or how it feels to sit on the bench and not be selected.

“But it doesn’t help you select a team or decide tactics, motivate a player or deal with conflict.

“It doesn’t help with any of those things. Those are totally new skills which you have to learn.

“What Guardiola did brilliantly was the transition between being a player and a coach.

“That was phenomenal.”

As for today’s game, Clement added: “We need to be strong in the counterattack and clinical with our finishing.”