Paul Clement has made the best Premier League start of any Swansea City manager and takes his revitalised side to Hull City on Saturday, looking to build on a remarkable run that has lifted the club five points clear of the relegation zone.
Even the most optimistic Swans fan would have struggled to imagine Clement’s effectiveness when he joined in January as their third manager of the season and with the club rock bottom of the table.
Yet after five wins in his first eight league games, Swansea have pulled clear of danger and have a cushion between themselves and those looking to claw their way out of the mire below.
Clement, whose career has been spent mostly as an assistant and who was Carlo Ancelotti’s right-hand man at Chelsea when they won the double in 2010, has garnered 15 points from a possible 24.
Remarkably, he has only been beaten in the league by Arsenal, Manchester City and leaders Chelsea.
If the Premier League season had begun in the week of Clement’s arrival, Swansea would be fifth, with only Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton having picked up more points in that period.
His record is so good that no Swansea manager has ever done better in their opening eight Premier League games. In fact, Clement has managed more points in eight than any of his predecessors managed in their first 10.
Hull, however, could prove difficult opponents for Swansea having already beaten them twice this season, including a
2-0 FA Cup victory in Clement’s second game in charge.
They too changed coach in January in the hope of turning their season around and while Marco Silva has not had the same impact as Clement, they have shown signs of fight, taking eight points out of 21 since he was appointed.
They remain, however, deep in relegation danger. In 19th place on the table, they are four points adrift of safety.
Since Clement replaced American Bob Bradley in January, the Swans have won five games and have risen up to 16th in the table.
But Clement isn’t taking survival for granted, and says none of the teams in the bottom half of the table should either.
“It is still very close and those gaps can change at any time, both for you and against you,” Clement said.
“Our focus is very much game to game, we had a very important victory against Burnley last weekend after losing at Chelsea.
“When I came here in January there were four teams in it at the bottom, now it is seven.
“But it could become four teams again, and it could quite easily become nine.”
By Clement’s reckoning, any of Burnley, Watford, Bournemouth, Leicester, Swansea, Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, Hull and Sunderland could be dragged into a relegation battle.
Palace are currently three points above the drop after winning two games on the bounce, but with forms fluctuating quickly, no team in the bottom nine can feel truly out of the woods yet.