Swansea City

Paul Clement: 'I'm ideally suited for Swansea City role'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 03 January 2017

Swansea City head coach Paul Clement insists that he is up for the "massive challenge" of keeping the club in the Premier League, as he is perfectly suited for the role.

Paul Clement has claimed that his "footballing philosophy goes hand in hand" with Swansea City's, having been named as the club's new head coach on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

The former Chelsea, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich assistant has only previously taken charge of one club - an ill-fated eight-month stint at Derby County last season.

Despite his relative lack of outright experience when it comes to leading a side, Clement insists that he is more than up for the "massive challenge" of keeping the Swans - currently four points adrift of safety - in the Premier League this term.

"I'm delighted to be here," he told the Welsh outfit's official website. "I had a brief spell as head coach not too long ago at Derby. It was a role I enjoyed thoroughly before I went to Bayern Munich as assistant manager. But my real desire and ambition was to become a head coach again as quickly as possible, so I am absolutely delighted to be here at Swansea and a Premier League manager.

"I would like to think my footballing philosophy goes hand in hand with the club's. That's part of the reason the club chose me and a big part of the reason why I wanted to come to the club. Over recent years there has been a certain style Swansea fans have been used to seeing. Maybe that hasn't been there so much over recent times, but hopefully I will be able to put my imprint on the team very quickly and the fans will be able to see some good football - most importantly some winning football.

"It is a massive challenge; there's no other way to put it. But challenges are exciting and that's why I came here. I could have stayed at Bayern as an assistant, but I've chosen to come into a very challenging situation. It excites me to do that and that's the attitude I want the players to have. It's a big task, but I think it can be done."

Clement, who becomes Swansea's third boss of the season following Francesco Guidolin's and Bob Bradley's spells at the Liberty Stadium, will put in a watching brief this evening as his side face Crystal Palace in South London.