Derby have chance to go top at Hull City as Paul Clement leads march on Premier League

Clement's Derby look set to put on a real promotion challenge

AS befits a man who built his reputation in the shadows, Paul Clement is effecting a quiet revolution at Derby County.

 

If his side win at Championship leaders Hull it is going to prove increasingly difficult to avoid the spotlight however hard he might try.

Derby have been here before, having had the chance to take top spot against Nottingham Forest with the Sky cameras rolling and the nation's gaze on them just under a month ago.

On that occasion they froze, losing by a solitary goal.

 

Yet, as Clement says, to have that opportunity again so soon is a real bonus. And this time he is quietly determined that they should not fluff their lines.

"The incentive is obviously there to go top and we will go there with confidence high," he says. "But we know we are coming up against a very good team and a team who are in form and with Premier League experience from last year.

"Hull have scored the most goals and conceded the fewest but games like this are exciting and made more so that we are on TV. The last time we had that opportunity we didn't play very well but while it is our biggest test of the season, we go there confident."

Clement, still a youthful 43, is not prone to bold predictions despite building expectations in the area after four wins from five have seen them move stealthily into fourth place, tanstalisingly just two points behind Hull.

 

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In fact Derby under the former PE teacher seems more about quiet progress, getting the fundamentals solid before moving to the next level as evidenced by the progress of their much-envied academy.

"We are moving in the right direction but we have lots of room for improvement," he says. "Coming into my role I need some time to get my ideas across and develop some cohesiveness to develop the way we play.

"That cannot be done in the click of a finger. You need time on the training field and time in the video room to establish relationships with players."

Clement finished an inauspicious playing career at 23 to concentrate on coaching, starting initially as a teacher at Glenthorne High School in Surrey while he took his UEFA badges.

But it was as an academy coach at Chelsea, first under Guus Hiddink and then under Carlo Ancelotti, that he really made gigantic strides up the professional ladder.

 

When the Italian was appointed first-team coach at Stamford Bridge in 2009, Clement was promoted to assistant. He then went on to travel with him in that capacity (via a short spell as Steve Kean's assistant at Blackburn Rovers) to Paris Saint-Germain and finally Real Madrid.

Under Ancelotti he developed his own beliefs and style which evidently include a heavy reliance on short, sharp training sessions and the power of video as an analytical tool.

And while Derby's progress suggests his side are responding, he dizzying history following Ancelotti through the revolving door at three clubs makes his well aware of the fragile nature of form and how it can buckle under pressure and expectation.

"Eight managers have lost their jobs in the Championship already after a third of the season - it's crazy," he says. "We have a great chance to go top here which is a great position to be in.

"But the best situation would be to have the chance to go top in the final game of the season. We are in the right mix and that's where we need to be right up until the end."