Clement looking forward to return

PAUL Clement admits Swansea City’s clash with Chelsea will be a big moment for him as he returns to the club where he started his coaching career.

Clement first began working for the Blues in 1995 and – across two spells – worked his way up from a role at their centre of excellence , which he combined with his duties as a PE teacher, to become assistant manager under Carlo Ancelotti.

He will head back to Stamford Bridge on Saturday as Swansea look to continue their upturn in form under the 45-year-old.

The Welsh club have won four of their last six Premier League games to climb out of the relegation zone and open up a fourpoint buffer over the bottom three.

They face a daunting task against Antonio Conte’s league leaders, who have lost just one of their last 19 top-flight games.

But it is a challenge Clement is looking forward to as he returns to some familiar surroundings.

“This is my first time back there, I left in 2011 and keep in touch with a few people at the club who I knew in the senior staff and the academy staff,” he said.

“It is a club I have a long association with, I started to work there in 1995 and I had two spells.

“It is going to be a big day for us all, with me included in that as well.”

Clement has rightly been hailed for the rapid turnaround he has seen at the Liberty Stadium, but he rejected any notion of being a “miracle worker”, putting Swansea’s rejuvenation down to hard work.

“I am not sure I am (a miracle worker), we are working hard to improve performances and a knock on effect of that has been the results we have got,” he said.

“After dealing with victory and defeat we have to be level header; don’t be too down if you have not performed well or lost, don’t get too excited if we perform well and win.

“We went to Liverpool and Manchester City with a positive outlook and we will approach this game with the same mentality. We will have a hard week of training work and look to execute the plan.”

Clement also confirmed talks over a new deal for defender Federico Fernandez are at an advanced stage, but was quick to make clear he is nowhere near starting to plan for next season.