Paul Clement Takes Positives From Point At Blackburn Rovers

It was the tale of two halves at Ewood Park and although we lost a two goal lead, we did however pick up our first point of the season. Jon Dadi Bodvarsson scored both Reading goals in the first half to put the Royals in a position for the second half, but two needless fouls by Paul McShane in the penalty area lead to two penalties both converted by Charlie Mulgrew,

Paul Clement was disappointed to come away with the point, and he summed up the game to the Official Club Website by saying:

“Maybe before the game, a point here would have been a good result. But on reflection and having seen all the emotion of the game and how it flowed, we come away disappointed that we didn’t take all the points.

“You’re disappointed when you’ve gone 2-0 ahead and not come away with all three points. And they’re probably satisfied that after going two behind that they got back in it.”

Here’s what he made of some of the biggest talking points from the match.

Clement on first half performance

“I thought we were good in the first half. We had a bit of a shock early on when they hit the bar, but we went on to play really well and looked solid. We created chances and scored two really good goals to put us in a brilliant position.”

Clement on second half performance

“In the second half, we saw a shape change and a style change from them and we have to take credit for forcing them to change things.”

Clement on adjusting to a change in style

“We had to deal with similar things that we faced against Bolton - a very direct style and every ball was going long and diagonal, and that pushed us back right onto the edge of our box.

“We did a lot of good things in the first half. But we’ve got to be good at adjusting to that change in style of play. Tonight we didn’t cope very well with that style change.”

Clement on creating chances

“We were creating right to the end - Marc McNulty came on and had a fantastic chance that went just wide. And I thought with that little bit of quality that we could nick it.”

Clement on getting a point

“On reflection, a point is good because we hadn’t got any and now we have one away from home. Now we move onto the next game.”

Clement on Bodvarsson’s goals

“They were both good goals. He missed out in the last game and that’s what you want from players when they don’t play - for them to come back in and take their opportunity.

“It was very good from him and all the players worked really hard and put a lot of effort in to try and get all three points. We only took one but we’ll take the positives out of it and work on what we need to work at and get it right for the next game.”

Clement on performances this season

“We have suffered a bit in the first four games. A last-gasp winner for Derby in the first game, then we got nothing at Forest when we played okay, and then here we were leading by two and conceded two penalties.

“Barring last weekend, the performances have not been bad. And tonight, I was pleased with the endeavour of the players. Our spirit and mentality was better too.

“This team is evolving and it’ll improve. We’ll get better and better as time goes on. It’s a bit of pain in the short term, hopefully for the long-term gain.

“In the past, the wins have been a long way away for this time. Now they feel a little bit closer.”

Has Paul Clement got his post-match assessment right? Let us know in the comments below.