Clement feels the pressure as Swansea keep on misfiring
Having effected one great escape, it remains to be seen whether the Swansea City manager Paul Clement will be entrusted to reprise his role from last season after a dismal 2-0 defeat at Burnley.
A sixth defeat in seven Premier League outings marked the latest chapter in a compendium of misery for their supporters, who could be heard calling for the removal of chairman Huw Jenkins during the second half.
While Clement escaped their fire, a meeting scheduled with American coowner Steve Kaplan last night is likely to have prompted several searching questions, particularly in relation to the team’s offensive travails.
Swansea have had just 23 attempts on target in 12 league outings and until the final moments of this contest – when Wilfried Bony tamely directed a shot straight at Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope – it had threatened to be the fourth occasion this season when they had failed to register even one.
“It is clear we are not playing well,” Clement said. “One of the problems we have got is belief and confidence. When the first goal went in, it got sucked out of the players. We’ve really got to find a way to break this cycle that we’re in at the moment. If the owners feel there is someone that can get better out of these players, it is their right to do that.”
Defensive failings also figured in Burnley’s two goals, the first scored by Jack Cork, who featured prominently in Swansea’s survival under Clement last term. Ashley Barnes killed off the visitors in the 40th minute.
Cork’s form since his move to East Lancashire has been a revelation and brought international recognition, at a stage in his career, at 28, when he may have feared that his opportunity had gone. Here he delivered a wonderful rendition of box-to-box midfield play.
“It was brilliant to see that,” said the Burnley manager Sean Dyche. “It’s a detail of the game that isn’t quite as prevalent these days. I love to see my midfielders driving into the box like Bryan Robson, flying into the box and heading it in. You don’t see that so often now.”