Paul Clement wants more from his Swansea City players, despite watching them earn a first Premier League victory of the season.
The Swans manager has challenged his team to make further improvement after their 2-0 win away at struggling Crystal Palace.
Goals either side of half time from Tammy Abraham and Jordan Ayew were enough to see the Swans secure that maiden league success of 2017/18 – a result that never appeared to be in doubt as they held on with ease.
Despite seeing goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski remain relatively untroubled by an out-of-sorts Palace side, Clement still feels his side have plenty of work to do to reach a level he feels they are capable of.
“The players recognise there is improvement to be made,” Clement told Sky Sports. “And we are going to be working hard with the players that remain with us, over the international break.
“I thought we played much better in the first half. We had control of the game and generally our football was very good.
“There was a little bit of fortune about the second, but it comes at a very good time. Straight after half-time, it gave us the momentum.
“Then they put plenty of long balls and crosses into the box. We had to play with wingers to try and stop them.
“An away win in the Premier League is always difficult, and after the start we have had it was an important game to win. We can now say we have had a decent start to the season.
“Most important, we have four points those points have come away from home and that is good for our confidence.”
Having lost last season’s star performer Gylfi Sigurdsson to Everton, Clement revealed the club are in the market for several additions before the transfer window closes on Thursday.
“It will be a busy few days, going up to Thursday,” Clement added. “We want to bring in players of good quality.
“We need quality players. We already have a good squad here, Fernando Llorente is coming back from injury and if we bring in a few players we will have a very competitive squad.”
TWEET OF THE MATCH
“De Boer was sacked after just 85 days at Inter. September 18th looks a long way off right now.” – Football writer Matthew Stanger (@MatthewStanger) sounds a note of caution to the Palace boss.
STAR MAN
Sam Clucas. Swansea splashed £15million of the £45m they received for Gylfi Sigurds son on the Hull midfielder. But Clucas was no direct replacement for the Icelandic playmaker here. Just three days after signing, Clucas filled an uncommon role at the base of midfield but his quiet authority and distribution helped sway the game for Swansea.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Abraham signalled his intent to be a future superstar with his first Premier League goal. The on-loan Chelsea youngster had little chance to shine in front of goal in his opening two games for Swansea. But Abraham showed great strength by shrugging off Martin Kelly to finish with a close-range volley. It will surely be the first of many for Abraham in the top flight.
VIEW FROM THE BENCH
Both managers were in need of a boost before the international break. Neither De Boer nor Paul Clement had seen their sides score in the Premier League this season. For De Boer it is very much a work in progress and the jury is out on whether he can change Palace’s traditional physical style by picking up enough results on the way. Clement’s side might be short of quality in certain areas, but they are comfortable in their own skin and were worthy winners.
RATINGS
Crystal Palace
Wayne Hennessey 6
Joel Ward 6
Timothy Fosu-Mensah 6
Scott Dann 6
James Tomkins 6
Patrick van Aanholt 5
Luka Milivojevic 5
James McArthur 6
Jason Puncheon 6
Andros Townsend 7
Christian Benteke 5
Substitutes
Martin Kelly (for Tomkins, 41mins) 4
Lee Chung-yong (for Van Aanholt, 46mins) 6
Yohan Cabaye (for Milivojevic, 58mins) 6
Swansea
Lukasz Fabianski 7
Kyle Naughton 7
Mike Van der Hoorn 7
Federico Fernandez 7
Alfie Mawson 7
Martin Olsson 7
Tom Carroll 7
Sam Clucas 8
Leroy Fer 7
Jordan Ayew 7
Tammy Abraham 7
Substitutes
Wayne Routledge (for Van Der Hoorn, 70mins) 6
Oliver McBurnie (for Abraham, 78mins) 6
Angel Rangel (for Naughton, 88mins) 6
WHO’S UP NEXT?
Burnley v Crystal Palace (Premier League, September 10)
Swansea v Newcastle (Premier League, September 10)
One thought on “Paul Clement Tells Swans They Must Build On Stormer At The Palace”