Paul Clement appointed as Reading manager
Friday 23 March 2018 13:48, UK
Reading have confirmed the appointment of Paul Clement as their new manager on a deal which runs until the summer of 2021.
The former Swansea and Derby boss replaces Jaap Stam who left the Madejski Stadium by mutual consent on Wednesday.
Reading are just three points above the relegation zone in the Sky Bet Championship after winning one of their last 18 league games.
Clement is confident he can guide the Royals to safety with only eight games remaining, including matches against promotion-chasing Cardiff, Fulham and Aston Villa to come.
He said: "I look at those eight games and I see it that if the players play to their potential and we manage to get some ideas across very quickly, maybe get an early win and get some confidence, they're all winnable games.
"I'll look at the Reading squad and say that it's a team which has under-achieved this season and now we need to get them playing to their potential. If we do that we'll be competitive against anybody."
Stam almost led Reading to promotion to the Premier League in his first season in charge, losing on penalties to Huddersfield in the play-off final in May and Clement is determined to take the club back to the top flight.
"It's a really good opportunity," said the 46-year-old. "It's a club I've always respected, going back many years when I was involved in youth football and come across Reading's academy which has always been very strong and got a rich tradition of always bringing players through.
"But also at senior level, they've always been very competitive. There's an immediate aim to secure the club in the Championship with eight games to go.
"But beyond that, I think there's a lot of ambition to take this club further forward. They were very close last season from [reaching] the Premier League - that's where the club want to be and I want to coach at that level again."
Clement was sacked by Swansea in December with the club bottom of the table after losing nine of his last 11 games in charge. He had taken over at the Liberty Stadium the previous January and guided the club to Premier League safety.
Previously he had worked as an assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and spent less than nine months in charge at Derby where he was sacked in February 2016 despite his side being just five points off the top of the Championship.
Chief Executive Ron Gourlay added: "I am delighted to have secured the services of a hugely experienced forward-thinking manager like Paul, who I have personally worked alongside during our time spent at Chelsea.
"Not only has he coached at some of the greatest clubs in Europe, winning trophies, league titles and European honours and working with some of the greatest players in the world, fundamentally he also has a rich understanding of English football having managed in both the Championship and the Premier League in recent years.
"Now, everyone at Reading Football Club is fully behind Paul and his squad of players as, together, we initially set our sights on an eight-game battle and continue to strive to the take this club forward."
