Paul Clement: Swansea City must take chances

7th January

Paul Clement felt Swansea City paid the price for failing to take their chances as his first game in charge ended in FA Cup defeat at Hull City.
The Swans' new head coach was encouraged by some aspects of his team's performance at the KCOM Stadium.
But ultimately there was frustration for Clement as the Swans conceded two late goals.



"I wanted to win this game, so did the players, and most importantly I wanted a performance," he said.
"I felt for long periods I got that performance. I thought the game was quite even, and maybe we even had better chances. 
"We had some really good chances - Ki Sung-Yueng in the first half, Nathan Dyer and Fernando Llorente in the second - and we have to take those. 
"Then we conceded a disappointing goal. We defended pretty well for most of the game but you could see we were tiring by 78 minutes. 
"There was a lapse of concentration and they got in quite easily. In the end, the scoreline flatters Hull."



Ki came closest to scoring for the Swans when he hit the post just minutes before Abel Hernandez tapped home Hull's opener.
Tigers keeper Eldin Jakupovic also made notable saves to deny Ki, Dyer and Llorente.
Hernandez broke the deadlock with 12 minutes of normal time remaining and, with the Swans pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Hull sealed victory deep in the 94th minute when Josh Tymon's shot went in off the far post.
A crowd of just 6,608 turned up to watch the game, and Clement felt the atmosphere - or lack of - influenced what happened on the pitch.



"I found it very strange," he admitted. "I think the size of the crowd affected the intensity in the first half.
"There was not much tempo to the game. Maybe there was a bit more in the second half when both teams were trying to win it, but we are looking to play with much more intensity than that."
Clement reckons time working on the training ground will benefit his new team - while he also acknowledged that he is keen to spruce up the Swans squad with some new faces.
"I learned a lot at Crystal Palace, I have learned a lot in three days of training and I have learned a lot again here," he said.
"I wouldn't say we need an influx because there are good players in this squad already.
"But we are looking to do something, and we have got to make sure the players we bring in are better than what we have got.
"We are also working hard on the training field to get my ideas across as quickly as possible.
"That's an area where we can help improve the team, as well as bringing in new signings."