Being the boss means defeat hits 100 times harder, says Clement
PAUL Clement admits the pain of defeat hurts 100 times more when you’re the boss as opposed to the assistant, and is out to make sure it is only Leicester who are suffering after tomorrow’s Liberty Stadium showdown.
The Premier League champions travel to South Wales following a week which has seen manager Claudio Ranieri’s position come under scrutiny less than 12 months after delivering the title.
Lying level on 21 points with Swansea, just one above the drop zone, the Foxes could yet become the first champions to be relegated the next season since Manchester City in 1938.
Beating a side who have lost their last four league fixtures without scoring a goal would give Swansea a huge boost and ensure a positive fortnight ahead before the trip to face Chelsea.
And Clement (above) wants no repeat of the heartache and frustration he felt when a point slipped through Swansea figures at the Etihad Stadium last weekend.
“This situation reminds me of when we were going into the international breaks with the big clubs,” he said.
“That game before, you want to go away knowing for the next two weeks you’ve come off the back of a good performance and a victory.
“It can be a long wait to get back in front of your players if you’ve lost.
“That was the case after Man City. I had a bad day the day after that game.
“You get back in on Tuesday and you talk about it and it’s a good remedy for moving forward.
“But that scenario hurts a hundred times more, it’s terrible, when you’re the head coach.
“After the game I’m looking back at all the situations where players could’ve done better, if I had my time again, what I might’ve done differently to stop us getting to that point.
“But I said to the players about moving on quickly, emotionally, from a victory or defeat.
“It doesn’t mean you have to forget about the technical or tactical things about where you can do better.
“But from an emotional point of view, you have to move on fast. You can’t dwell on it, good or bad and we will be ready for this because it is a six-point fixture.
“A lot can change quickly from games like this.”
One area Clement will be keen to improve on against a fragile-looking Leicester side is how Swansea start games, following sluggish openings against Southampton and City.
The former Derby boss wants to see a fast high-intensity start to pile the pressure firmly on the visitors.
“It is true we did not start well against Southampton, we gave them too much time and space and that was absolutely the case at Manchester City,” he said.
“We did not get effective pressure on the ball and we got much closer in the second half and were far more aggressive.
“But we want a fast start, to start well, we want to get the crowd behind us, to have that intensity in our game and get the confidence high right from the first whistle.
“We will not play each other again this season and that makes it even more important. I think if you are a team low on confidence and you concede it can be a tough challenge mentality and we saw that when they played Manchester United.”
Swansea have suffered at the hands of Leicester in recent meetings, losing the last four, conceding 11 goals and scoring one in the process.
But Clement has not paused to look back at those games, believing they will not be significant in Sunday’s outcome.
“Statistics and past results are in the past, what matters is what is ahead of us.”
Swansea will hope three points and Premier League safety lie in wait.
Meanwhile Alfie Mawson has been backed to play a big part in Swansea City’s long-term future by head coach Paul Clement.
The 23-year-old joined the Swans from Barnsley last summer, and has quickly established himself at the heart of the defence. Prior to his move to South Wales,
J Mawson had spent much of his career in the lower league and had ORDAN Ayew wants to follow just four appearances in the Chamin the footsteps of brother Anpionship to his name before getdre by helping guide Swansea ting his big move. City to Premier League safety.
But he has impressed with his The Ghanaian is in line to make his development since making his deSwansea debut against fellow strugbut in the goalless draw against glers Leicester at the Liberty Stadium Watford and, under Clement, he this afternoon (4pm), having joined has struck up a partnership with up with his new club following the Federico Fernandez that has been completion of his international duties the best Swansea have fielded all at the African Cup of Nations. campaign. The forward, 25, suffered the drop
“Alfie is doing well for his age with Aston Villa following a miserable and his relative lack of experience, campaign that saw the West Midlands even at the level below I don’t think club pick up just 17 points from their he’s played a lot,” said Clement. 38 games. You can see the club made a good Meanwhile elder sibling Andre, signing there. who has since left the Liberty in a
“At the moment he is playing all £20.5million move, found the net 12 the time and learning and improvtimes to end the season as Swansea’s ing. I’ve seen an improvement in top scorer and help them retain tophim in the time since I’ve been flight status. here” Now Jordan is among the men be- ing tasked with a repeat of that feat, and is confident of a successful survival fight.
“As a player you never want to get relegated. At Villa we knew we would be in the Championship in January and that was difficult because you have two or three months just to play,” he said.
“That is difficult mentally when you know you are going to play in the Championship, but I don’t like to talk about it because this is a new chapter for me.
“It’s like a race now. The team has been doing well when I have been at the African Cup of Nations.
“I used to follow the results, it was positive and we just need to continue this and there will be no problem to stay in the Premier League.
“It’s going to be tough, but we have won games which people predicted we would have lost – like Liverpool
SWANSEA V LEICESTER, LIBERTY STADIUM, TODAY, 4PM
and maybe Southampton – and now we have three or four games coming up against teams who are fighting against relegation.
“In a month or two we can maybe be in a good position if we do our jobs now. I would like to do as well as Andre did. The most important thing is that we stay in the Premier League. I need to get ready physically and mentally to be efficient for the team.
“Last year I showed that I wasn’t consistent. Why? I don’t know why, maybe because of the situation.
“But now I’m coming to a team where I feel the confidence from the club, the coach and the players. There’s a good team spirit, which is always good, and I have a lot to prove.”
Ayew had visited the Liberty on several occasions last season to watch his brother in action, and he revealed Andre and his family had strongly advised him to make the move to Swan-