Paul Clement has been sacked as manager of Swansea, with his assistant managers Nigel Gibbs and Karl Halabi also leaving the club. Clement, 45, had been under increasing pressure and the Swans confirmed his departure after Monday night’s 3-1 defeat at Everton left them four points adrift of safety. Swansea are in serious danger of relegation this season and have won once in 11 games, which prompted the move.
Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins confirmed: “To change the manager, especially at only the halfway point of the season, is the last thing we wanted to do as a club.”We had three different managers last season and as a result we all wanted to give Paul as much time as possible to turn things around. But we felt we couldn’t leave it any longer and needed to make a change to give us the best chance of an uplift and a turnaround in fortunes with the club bottom of the Premier League. “Paul has been at the club for 12 months and what he achieved in the second half of last season to keep us in the top flight was a tremendous feat. For that, and his effort and commitment this season, it goes without saying that the club thanks him for his work, together with Nigel (Gibbs) and Karl (Halabi). “I have had an excellent working relationship with Paul and we are all, including the owners, surprised and disappointed it hasn’t worked out this season. We wish Paul every success in his career going forward.”
The Swans were bottom of the table when Clement took charge but he oversaw a remarkable escape from relegation after a strong end to the campaign. However, a summer of poor dealings in the transfer market sowed the seeds for a dreadful start to the current term. Last season’s leading scorer Fernando Llorente and player of the year Gylfi Sigurdsson were sold but not adequately replaced.
Paul Clement’s departure is a damning indictment of those who run Swansea City. If you include club legend Alan Curtis’ spells at the helm, the Swans have gone through six bosses in just two years. Curtis has taken caretaker-charge of his beloved Swans for the last two Decembers.
As head coach, Clement must take some of the blame, just as he deservedly received plenty of praise for steering the club away from relegation last season. But the problems run far deeper than the coach. Poor recruitment for the last few years has resulted in a squad which is inadequate by Premier League standards.
