Paul Clement: Swansea City recruits to face Liverpool
19th January
Paul Clement is ready to pitch his new recruits into action this weekend as the Swansea City boss targets progress at Liverpool.
Clement has revealed that left-back Martin Olsson and midfielder Tom Carroll will feature at Anfield having joined the Swans this week.
The Swans head coach has not ruled out his third new face, Luciano Narsingh, although the winger may not recover from a calf problem in time to feature.
Whether it is two or three who will be involved on Saturday, Clement is excited by what the fresh faces will bring.
"Tom is a really good footballer," he said. "He fits very much with the style we are looking to develop here at Swansea.
"He has good experience of playing at a high level. He played a lot of games last year.
"Maybe he has not had so many this year, so I think his move comes at the right stage for him to come and play regular football. We are very happy to have him.
"And Martin is someone I worked with briefly before (at Blackburn), so I know everything he is about as a footballer and a character.
"He has experience of this level and the one below, as well as international football, and I think he is a good addition.
"I think these players are going to improve us, absolutely. I would say 90-95 per cent of our thinking when it comes to bringing players in is about them having an impact now."
Clement, who is "not sure" whether Narsingh will be available this weekend, saw his first Premier League game in charge end in a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal.
But the scoreline did not tell the whole story, for the Swans impressed throughout much of the first half against the Gunners.
Clement has taken some encouragement from the Arsenal display - and says his players must build on what they did right last Saturday when they take on another title contender.
"We have to keep working on the training field because we have to be more consistent," he added.
"The signs in the first 30 minutes against Arsenal were very encouraging. Arsenal then stepped it up and we couldn't contain them.
"But if we can stretch the first 30 minutes out, we are going to have a good chance even against the good teams.
"We are going to have defend well this weekend and if we get chances, we need to take them.
"The players are training really well, putting a lot of energy into what we are doing. I can see improvements already, and now it's about being more consistent. We hope we can be more consistent against Liverpool."
Clement, meantime, has played down suggestions that either Wayne Routledge or Federico Fernandez could be sold during this transfer window.
"Wayne is a good player and I don't see him going anywhere - I want him to stay," he said.
"And there's no thought of doing anything with Fernandez. I like him. I think he is a good player and he will be staying with us."
Clement on the possibility of more new signings
"We are getting to the difficult period (of the window) now. We are not close with anything, but we have targets who we are monitoring on a daily basis.
"There are a lot of things that can affect whether we can do these deals or not.
"It may not be until the last days of the window that anything happens."
Clement on what it will take to stay up
"We are one point away from being out of the bottom three and not far from the teams above that.
"That can change very quickly, but I don't have a points target in mind. I am just looking for short-term improvement."
Clement on Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool
"This may be an even more difficult game (than Arsenal) because we are away from home against title contenders who play good football and defend with a lot of energy.
"I have come across Jurgen Klopp when I was at Real Madrid and we played Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-final. We won 3-0 at home and then lost 2-0 away.
"He has a lot of charisma and a lot of energy. People I know who have worked with him say he is excellent with the players. He gets every bit out of them.
"Liverpool are a good team to watch who play high-intensity football. I think it's a modern approach."
Clement on the number of goals the Swans have conceded after going behind this season
"I am aware that goals have gone in and then more have gone in.
"What I have said to the players is that when a goal goes in against us, that is the scoreline, not the result.
"They showed in the (home) game against Crystal Palace earlier this season that they have the strength of character to win in very, very difficult circumstances."
