Swansea City hire Paul Clement as new manager

Swansea job excites Paul Clement: ‘It’s a big task but I think it can be done’

• Former Bayern Munich assistant says Swansea fit his football philosophy
• Huw Jenkins backs Paul Clement to ‘restore much-needed pride’

Paul Clement has signed a 2½-year deal to become Swansea City’s manager and will “restore some much-needed pride”, according to Huw Jenkins. The chairman also backed Clement to “regain the footballing belief” that was once at the core of Swansea’s values but has been lacking of late, with the club deep in relegation trouble.

Clement met the Swansea players at their hotel in London before Tuesday night’s game at Crystal Palace but decided to watch from the stands, leaving Alan Curtis in charge. Curtis, the first-team coach, will hand over the reins afterwards, with Clement due to take his first training session on Wednesday before being announced at a press conference at the Liberty Stadium on Thursday.

“I would like to think my footballing philosophy goes hand in hand with the club’s,” Clement told Swansea’s website. “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.”

Clement’s managerial experience is limited to the eight months he spent at Derby County last season but the 44-year-old has coached at some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Chelsea, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-German and, more recently, Bayern Munich, working closely with Carlo Ancelotti. “I could have stayed at Bayern as an assistant but I’ve chosen to come into a very challenging situation,” he said. “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.”

Jenkins hopes that Swansea will reap the rewards from Clement’s CV: “Swansea City’s strength over many years had been the quality of the football coached on the training field,” he said. “That has always been at the forefront of our success. There is no doubt in my mind that Paul can not only help us regain that footballing belief, but also restore some much needed pride back into the football club.

“Everyone connected to the club is fully behind the appointment and we see this a typical Swansea City choice. It looks a good fit to get us back on track and provide one of the best young coaches in Europe with the chance to develop his own career and become a leading coach in his own right. I’m sure every Swans supporter, like me, would want to wish Paul the best of luck at the club and that he enjoys his time with us at Swansea.”

Clement becomes Swansea’s third manager of the season. Francesco Guidolin was sacked in October and Bob Bradley, the Italian’s replacement, was dismissed on 27 December, after losing seven of his 11 matches.

Guardian