Paul Clement: Swansea City boss hoping home form makes the difference

Since Paul Clement took charge, Swansea have taken nine Premier League points from a possible 12 at the Liberty Stadium

Swansea City boss Paul Clement hopes their recent home form will help his side avoid relegation from the Premier League.

The Swans take on Middlesbrough at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, where they have lost just once since Clement took charge in January.

Only Arsenal, who are currently sixth in the table, have bettered Swansea's home record since the turn of the year.

"We need that kind of mentality [at home]," said Clement.

After losing to the Gunners at home in his first game in charge, Clement's Swans have beaten Southampton, Leicester and Burnley at the Liberty Stadium to ease at least some of their relegation fears.

Their record on the road has not been quite so impressive however, with the Welsh club going into the Boro game off the back of defeats away at Hull and Bournemouth.

It has seen them dragged back towards the bottom three, with Boro under the charge of caretaker boss Steve Agnew, one place off the foot of the table and five points behind their hosts.

Clement refuses to see the game as a 'must win,' but, cites his side's finest victory under him as proof the Swans are capable of picking up points anywhere with nine games left.

"Of course we must relish playing at home," said Clement.

"Go back to our performances against Leicester and also Burnley, where we created lots of crosses into the box. We were very dangerous that day.

"The squad sense the important of this game. I wouldn't say it's must-win because what if you don't win? Is the season over? No, of course it's not. You've still got eight games and they are games that you can win at home or away.

"I think the fact we won at Liverpool away, it's something we can always look back on and say 'we can go anywhere and get a good result'. It's a very important game, there's no question about it."

Southampton are just one of the sides Swansea have beaten at home since Paul Clement took charge

With the late-season run-in set to begin, Clement has dismissed the idea that his side have been enjoying an upturn in form many teams experience when a new manager takes charge.

"I haven't changed anything from what I did at the start to now," he said.

"The training intensity, the way I communicate with the players, it's the same kind of thing. We work on details, we work on the fundamentals, there was no magic when I first came in and there won't be next week or the week after."

Despite enjoying success as assistant to Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, Paris Saint Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Clement says keeping the Swans in the top flight would eclipse anything he has achieved in his career so far.

He added: "Personally, it would be the best. It is very different being an assistant to a head coach.

"Those achievements when I worked with Carlo were very satisfying. But when you're calling all the big decisions yourself, the reward of getting victories are very, very satisfying. But the defeats hurt you more than anything.

"So it would be very rewarding if we managed to achieve the objective."