Paul Clement has described Pep Guardiola as a very innovative coach
Thursday 30 July 2020 10:26, UK
Paul Clement is hoping his knowledge of Pep Guardiola's coaching methods will assist Swansea when they travel to face Manchester City on Sunday.
The Swans' manager worked with many of the players Guardiola left behind at Bayern Munich when he departed for City last summer.
Clement was Carlo Ancelotti's assistant when the Italian replaced Guardiola in Bavaria.
Looking ahead to this weekend's match, Clement said: "I spoke to a lot of the Bayern players about his (Guardiola's) methods, such as the way he approached the games, his tactical awareness.
"Everything was very positive, but you could see that from the outside. He's a great coach, very innovative, and I have no doubt he will be a success here.
"He started very strongly before having a slight dip in results and performances. But it looks like they're back on track after the West Ham game.
"It was one of their best games of the season, and they were very strong in transition with a young and athletic front three."
Clement admits that one of his lowest moments in football came when he was an assistant to Guus Hiddink at Chelsea, who lost a Champions League semi-final to Guardiola's Barca in 2009.
The Blues were seemingly on their way to a second straight final against Manchester United, until Andres Iniesta netted a last-minute strike to earn the visitors victory on away goals.
He added: "It was Pep's first year as Barcelona manager. We'd drawn 0-0 in Barcelona and we went ahead in the home leg before Iniesta scored to take them to the final.
"That was very hard to take and they went on to beat Man United in the final.
"Pep won four trophies in his first season as a coach, and it's brilliant to have him here in England after what he's done at Barcelona and Bayern."
As for Swansea's battle to avoid relegation, Clement went on: "It is three out of six at the moment but that could change in the next two weeks.
"It could be four or five, or even seven or eight, you just have to take each week as it comes.
"Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Hull, Middlesbrough, Leicester and us all have the belief and are working hard to stay in this league.
He's a great coach, very innovative, and I have no doubt he will be a success here.
"I was very happy with the result against Southampton the other night. The performance was mixed but we're improving that all the time."
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