Sunday 12 February 2017 15:02, UK
Swansea have defied expectations by climbing out of the relegation zone since they appointed Paul Clement at the start of January.
The South Wales side, who were bottom of the table when Carlo Ancelotti's former assistant took over from Bob Bradley, have moved up to 17th with a run of three wins from five Premier League games.
So how exactly has Clement changed it? We take a look at some of the areas of improvement ahead of their Nissan Super Sunday clash with Leicester at the Liberty Stadium.
One of the first things you look for from a new manager is a positive impact on the dressing room, and that's been obvious at Swansea. Clement has succeeded in galvanising the squad and restoring confidence after a tumultuous period under Francesco Guidolin and Bradley.
Clement joined the coaching staff in the dugout for their morale-boosting 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on the day of his appointment. That was followed by a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal, but Swansea have beaten Liverpool and Southampton since then and they were moments away from leaving Manchester City with a point on Sunday.
"This is a different Swansea City side to what we have seen before this season," said Lukasz Fabianski this week. "We have to keep working hard and improving because you can clearly see the results of the work we have been doing with the new boss. I think we can all feel and sense that something positive is happening here."
Fabianski is not the only one to have felt the benefits. "We believe he can help us a lot," said Ki Sung-Yueng in January. "Of course, when you are losing games your confidence drops and the pressure increases. Even when making a simple pass you can feel more pressure than normal. But Paul has tried to give us more confidence as a team."
With more confidence and togetherness among the players, Clement has managed to increase their intensity and work-rate on the pitch. Bradley bemoaned the squad's fitness levels when he took over from Guidolin earlier this season, but Clement has quickly whipped them into shape.
In four games under Clement since their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace at the start of January, Premier League tracking data shows that Swansea have collectively covered an average of 116.6km per game compared to just 109.8km before that.
The talismanic Gylfi Sigurdsson has led the way, but Swansea's extra industry has been evident all over the pitch. In fact, in their win over Liverpool and the defeats to Arsenal and Manchester City, Clement's men clocked their three highest totals of the entire season for distance covered.
It became nearly impossible to predict what kind of team Guidolin and Bradley would pick earlier in the season, with only Manchester City making more than Swansea's 56 line-up changes in the first 20 games of the season. At an average of three per game, it bred confusion and unfamiliarity on the pitch.
Only seven Swansea players have started more than 16 Premier League games out of 24 this season, but after months of upheaval and uncertainty, Clement has introduced stability. The 44-year-old has named an unchanged side for Swansea's last three games against Liverpool, Southampton and Manchester City, and their cohesion was a big factor in the positive performances.
To the players, everything suddenly seems a little clearer. "It feels like we are more organised and doing things the right way," noted Jack Cork recently. "We are moving in the right direction, the head coach is getting his message through to us," added Wayne Routledge.
Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente may have been Swansea's standout performers in recent weeks, but the squad has also benefited from what looks like shrewd investment under Clement in the January transfer window.
One of his first actions in charge was to approve a deal to sign Luciano Narsingh from PSV Eindhoven. The winger is yet to make his first start, but his impact has already been impressive. He provided an assist for Sigurdsson when he came off the bench against Southampton, and he repeated the trick against Manchester City.
Midfielder Tom Carroll set up Llorente to score Swansea's second goal against Liverpool after re-joining the club from Tottenham, while Martin Olsson has provided an upgrade at left-back since joining from Norwich. With former Aston Villa forward Jordan Ayew also to come in after his Africa Cup of Nations exploits with Ghana, Swansea look far better-equipped for the second half of the season.
