Clement has no plans to bring in a psychologist for Swans

HE may have described his side as “mentally fragile” in the wake of defeat at Stoke City, but Paul Clement has no plans at the moment to bring in a sports psychologist to work at Swansea City.

The Swans have not utilised a full time sports psychologist since Dr Ian Mitchell left his post in 2016.

Mitchell had been brought into the backroom set-up under Garry Monk in 2014, and proved popular with the players.

He has been part of the Wales setup under Chris Coleman, and was well-respected by players and staff at the FAW and had a role in the success the national side experienced at Euro 2016.

Head coach Clement had bemoaned his side’s lack of mental resolve after they relinquished the lead and ultimately fell to a 2-1 loss against the Potters.

He had voiced similar concerns following a defeat at West Ham in April, but the Swans recovered from that low to secure Premier League survival.

And, while Clement indicated he would be prepared to allow a player to seek the services of a sports psychologist if asked, the 45-year-old Swans boss does not feel there is a need to make a full-time appointment at this stage.

“I’ve worked with them in the past and I am not against it, but I don’t think now is the right time here,” he said.

“I use all my experience from the past to try and make the best decisions.

“The most important thing for me is there is a leader, a manager, he makes the shots and you don’t bring people in who could potentially confuse things.

“If a player came to me and said ‘I would really benefit from talking to someone to help me with my mental preparation,’ we would support the players like that.

“But my belief is that you have got to have a leader making the decisions and one person that the players can look to making those decisions.”