‘BE BOLD’ CALL FROM CLEMENT
SWANSEA CITY manager Paul Clement has urged his players to be bold after their Premier League relegation rivals heaped the pressure on his side ahead of today’s vital clash with Middlesbrough.
The Swans are now out of the bottom three only on goal difference after Hull City came back to win 2-1 over West Ham yesterday, while there were also victories for Leicester City and Crystal Palace – who shocked leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
That has ramped up the pressure for today’s massive clash at the Liberty Stadium, with Clement saying his side are aware of the magnitude of the game.
“The squad sense the importance of this game,” he said before the weekend matches began.
“I wouldn’t say it’s must-win because what if you don’t win? Is the season over? No, of course it’s not.
“You’ve still got eight games and they are games that you can win at home or away. I think the fact we won at Liverpool away, it’s something we can always look back on and say ‘we can go anywhere and get a good result’. But it’s a very important game, there’s no question about it.”
And the Swansea manager wants his side to make the most of home advantage, and make it four Liberty wins on the trot after successes over Southampton, Leicester and Burnley.
“The message to the players is to relish playing at home and to be bold, as they have been,” he said.
“You go back to the games against Leicester and Burnley, we created a lot of chances and put good crosses into the box. We were dangerous on those days and we want that kind of mentality again.
“It’s difficult to know exactly what Middlesbrough’s approach will be. They’re playing against a rival at the bottom end of the table. So all you can do is look at what’s happened recently and be ready for not just one thing, but some other situations – whether they press, whether they sit off, whether they go 4-5-1 or go with two strikers.
“These are all things that the players have to be ready for and things that we’re speaking about.”
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