Clement vows to improve as he prepares for yet another big showdown
PAUL Clement has been involved in Champions League finals and worked with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, but the Swansea City head coach is humble enough to admit he has been far from faultless during his impressive start to life at the Liberty Stadium, and has vowed he can do better.
It is fair to say the majority of Swans fans have been more than happy with the job the 45-year-old has been doing since he succeeded Bob Bradley in January.
Despite the disappointing back-toback defeats to Hull and Bournemouth, the Welsh club remain in a far more encouraging position than anyone had a right to expect as 2017 dawned.
At that point, Swansea were four points adrift of safety and rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, having amassed a measly tally of 12 points as the season reached its halfway point.
Now, they are three points clear of the drop zone going into Sunday’s key Liberty battle with fellow strugglers Middlesbrough. The points tally has more than doubled to 27 and Swansea’s fate remains in their own hands.
If they go out and get the results, they will be a Premier League club next season.
Not that it will remove any of the expectation or pressure around Sunday’s game. Clement has faced several crucial fixtures since his arrival, but they keep getting bigger and this feels like it tops the lot.
Victory for Swansea and they move eight points clear of Boro, and drain a bit more hope from a direct rival, draw or lose and the sense of edginess is unlikely to abate any time soon.
Under the circumstances, it has been interesting to note how Clement follows the old adage of treating victory and defeat the same.
His emotions still show clearly in the technical area – that touchline sprint against Burnley a prime example – but when it comes to handling his players, or dealing with the media, he is calm, measured, in control.
All of which allows him to make an impassioned assessment of his time at the helm, and he sees many areas where he can improve.
“This is a different experience for me and I am learning every day,” said the former Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich assistant.
“I am the sort of person who looks carefully at the decisions I have made.
“I have made some good ones while I have been here, but I can tell you I have made mistakes too and it is about limiting those and making sure you make more good ones than bad.
“You have to have a thick skin. You can’t get too carried away if things go well, or too down if there is criticism.
“It is a big moment for me, a new one, and one I am up for.
“I have been thinking a lot about the best thing to do for this game and I am confident we will be as well prepared as we can and it is about delivering.”
And deliver Swansea have when it comes to recent home fixtures. Southampton, Leicester and Burnley have all been seen off at the Liberty in high-pressure situations.
There will be no let-up in that regard against managerless Boro, who are without a Premier League win since they humbled Swansea 3-0 at the Riverside during the last knockings of Bob Bradley’s short-lived tenure.
But Clement will not view pressure as mitigation for a failure to perform, and insists he and his squad must embrace it; not just this weekend, but over the entirety of the nine-game run-in that will decide what division they play their football in next season.
“We seem to have this conversation every few weeks about how big each game is,” he said with a wry smile.
“Every game is important. We have had that from the day I walked in and we played Crystal Palace. Then we had it against Leicester, Burnley, Hull and Bournemouth.
“This is big, and we are going out to win it.
“Now is not the time to lose momentum and, having failed to get results in the last two matches, we need to get some points and use the momentum we have been building at home.
“So, of course, there is pressure, we all feel it, but that should not be seen is a negative.
“Pressure is good, it keeps you alert and focused on the task in hand.
“Everyone is together again after the international break. We have spoken about what we need to do and we are preparing well to deliver them.”
Swansea City’s penultimate home game of the season against Everton will be shown live on TV, broadcasters have announced.
The Swans host Ronald Koeman’s in-form side at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, May 6, live on BT Sport, with kick-off now set to take place at 5.30pm.