Clement: I’m still the one
SWANSEA head coach Paul Clement has denied he is one game from the sack before his team’s crunch meeting with West Brom this afternoon.
The Swans are bottom of the Premier League with just two wins all season.
But Clement said: “I don’t think the owners and chairman would ever say, ‘You’ve got to win this game or you are gone’. What happens if you win the game? You say, ‘OK, I am here now, but you were going to get rid of me if I lost’. Relationships don’t work like that.
“I get good signs from my conversations with the owners. They are very supportive, they appreciate the work we did last year and they know the detail we go into with the players.”
Swansea are four points behind 16thplaced West Brom and Clement has been boosted by the return of defender Federico Fernandez.
He will be up against West Brom forward Salomon Rondon, who has been challenged by new manager Alan Pardew to stop him signing a striker in January.
Pardew says his current strikers, led by Rondon, have the chance to end the search by going on a goals surge.
“I haven’t seen these players yet and I don’t know what they can offer,” said Pardew.
“I really liked Rondon when he played under Tony Pulis against me. He was a problem for my centre-backs. I like to think I can hopefully squeeze a little bit more out of him in terms of his performance and certainly his goal record.
“His performances and work rate are difficult to knock but maybe we can improve his goalscoring and confidence. Goals give you that.”