Ancelotti: Swansea new-boy Clement has ‘quality’

Paul Clement has plenty to do to rescue Swansea from a relegation dogfight and win over the club’s fed up fans, but he does already have one big admirer in former boss Carlo Ancelotti.

The 45-year-old former amateur footballer first joined up with the Italian at Chelsea in 2009, serving as his assistant manager in south-west London before also joining Ancelotti in stints at Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and most recently at Bayern Munich.

Despite having spells with four of Europe’s heavyweights on his resume, Clement’s only foray into the top job at a club came at Derby, where he was relatively unsuccessful before being sacked after an eight-month reign.

But Ancelotti, one of the most respected managers on the planet, insists that while he was sad to lost Clement, he believes the Englishman has what it takes to become one of the Premier League’s leading men.

“Of course, at a certain point, an assistant like this, he wanted to be a manager in the Premier League; above all in the Premier League,” he said.

“He had this opportunity and I think he took the right decision to go there. I hope for him all the best, but he has absolutely the skills, the quality to be a top manager.

“I think [Clement] has a different personality to myself.

“He’s less quiet than me, but he has a strong motivation; really focused on his job.

“He’s thinking about his job 24 hours a day, and the character is different. But we had a really good time together. We won a lot, but always we [had a good time].”