Season › 2021-22 › News

Clement: 'We've got a lot of belief in this group of players'

Everton first-team coach, Paul Clement, has spoken of his intense introduction to life at the club having joined in the middle of a battle against relegation, how much he is enjoying working with such a diverse group of coaches, and his faith in the players that they can steer themselves away from danger in the coming weeks.

The 50-year-old former Derby, Swansea and Reading manager sat down with evertontv for his first full interview for the club's official video channel and started out by talking about how he got the job with the Blues.

“Frank called me when things started to get serious in the discussions with Everton,” Clement explained. “I think he was close to agreeing but not quite and he asked me if I was interested in coming.

“I always thought that if I was going to go back to being an assistant again it would be in this kind of role… having been a manager the last five or six years that it would be for someone like him.

“So, it wasn't a difficult decision to come work with Frank and a great coaching team in my opinion and also at a fantastic club like Everton.”

Clement explained that Lampard is “very inclusive in the way that he approaches management” which allows all the first-team coaching staff to collaborate on a day-to-day basis at Finch Farm and how they all have input on coaching, tactics and team selection before the manager makes the final decisions.

“It's been really good [coaching in the new group of coaches]. It's been one of the things I've enjoyed more than anything. There's lots of enjoyable things about this job here at Everton but that has to be one of the standout ones for me.

“We all know each other in various capacities. I've known Joe (Edwards) since he was a young academy player and I was a young coach. Myself and Chris Jones worked together at Fulham, at Chelsea and now here at Everton. Ashley (Cole) and Frank were obviously players when myself and Chris Jones were on the coaching staff.

“So we're a tight group and along with Duncan and Alan as well we've got a strong coaching staff and I think it's one of the best staffs I've worked on.

“In my time at Chelsea and as manager of Swansea, they were always difficult games against Everton. You know, playing at Goodison, especially midweek under the lights is quite daunting, especially for the players. Having had lots of discussions with players over the years, they always talks about Goodison — you know, that traditional English stadium. There's not many of them around now.

“It's got a passionate, incredible atmosphere and we've experienced that in the short time we've been here. So, I think between the two, it is a powerful combination.

“The game against Newcastle, with how that turned out in the end. You know, we were hanging on at the end when we went down to 10 men. But then to finish off with that 99th-minute winner was as good as atmosphere as I've ever experienced.

“I think the manager has really tried to embrace that when he came in. He understood very clearly, having played many, many times as a Chelsea player, he understands what the demands are of playing for the club and what the demands are of the supporters — what they expect from the team and from the players.”

Clement was asked about his particular responsibilities around coaching set-pieces and he expressed his belief that there was some initial success in that regard, particularly against Leeds where Michael Keane scored with a header, but he admitted that things had “plateaued a bit, even dipped slightly” since and that he intends to work with the players in the coming days and games to improve.

“On the defensive side I would say there was certainly some improvement early on. When I refer back to the Newcastle game against one of the best set-play teams in the country, I think we defended 17 set plays in that game and I thought we were immense in that game.

“And that's the attitude and the kind of level we've got take forward into the next game. We're working hard on our organisation defensively and we're also trying to come up with some creative ways to make opportunities on the attacking side.”

Asked what the feeling was like in the dressing room and among the coaching staff with regard to the club's chances of getting away from relegation danger this season, Clement said:

“Our last Premier League game was just a fantastic feeling. It was brilliant in the dressing room afterwards and that's the feeling we want to recreate now as many times as possible between now and the end of the season.

“I've got to say, this group of players — and I've worked with lots of squads over the last 12, 13 years — is a really good group of boys. They're working hard every day, they're focused, they're very compliant in following the ideas of the manager and the coaches.

“They're a really good group to work with and they want it. They really want to do well and I think they're going to do it. We've got a lot of belief in them. Obviously some of the performances have been a little bit up and down but they're hard-working, they're focused and they know what needs to be done.

“Obviously, the more and more the games go on, that pressure and intensity grows but we're all going to be fighting until that very last game of the season”

 

---

---

Reader Comments (28)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

About these ads