Paul Clement On Reading’s Disappointing Norwich Defeat

It’s fair to say that Paul Clement was not a happy man after Reading’s 2-1 defeat against Norwich City on Wednesday night at the Madejski Stadium. He was also a man of few words, only speaking to the media for a short period of time after the game.

Here is what he told the Official club website and GetReading after the game:

“It’s a very disappointing result, especially on the back of our away win against Preston at the weekend. We have to back that Deepdale result up with another win and another good performance, but over the ninety minutes we weren’t good enough.”

Clement on the performance

”In the first half, we were poor. We were second best in a lot of situations and didn’t approach the game in the right attitude and spirit.

“At the start of the second half and in the build-up to our goal, we played well and with a lot of energy and commitment – and we deserved to get back into the game.”

Clement on Norwich City’s second goal

”But the timing of their second goal is awful. They have the ball and we need to be solid and compact in that moment. We had the momentum, so to let them back in at that point is a big mistake by us.

”And you can’t make those kind of mistakes. We’d got back into the game and the crowd were behind us and we had the momentum. But we gave them an opportunity to get back into the game. We’ve got to be tighter in those situations...when they got the ball, we should have been compact, solid.

”We’re going to get the ball back and there is a long time to go in the game and we’re on top. But instead we were so open in that situation. We shot ourselves in the foot.”

Clement on the mood in camp

“It’s not good - we’re very disappointed not to have backed up the performance from Saturday at Preston. At the start of the second half up until when we scored I thought we were good and that is the type of team I want to see.

“But we were poor in the first half and second best in a lot of areas. We were not compact or tight enough, not competitive enough and they are a decent side but we made them look better than they are.

“We came out with the right spirit in the second half and deservedly got back into the game. But it’s pure naivety in the timing of their second goal. We got back into the game and had the momentum. But we had to keep it tight and not make any mistakes so that was a big disappointment.”

Clement on troubles at the Madejski Stadium

“The points suggest that but we have to approach games the same - with a good attitude and good energy, but we didn’t have that. In the first half we didn’t get it right but the attitude of the team was much better in the second half.

“In professional sport before all the technical and tactical stuff you have got to fight, show passion, battle and be committed. That was missing from our performance, especially in the first half.”

Clement on Hull City

“We’ve got to get out there again...quick. We’ve got to roll our sleeves up and get on with it. We’ve got to be tough and the players have got to go out on the pitch more determined and a little bit angry in how we approach the game to try and get a result.

”You have got to pick up wins at home because its so hard away. We’ve had a good win and a couple of draws on the road, so that’s not too bad. But four games and we’ve lost them all at home. We’ve got to put it right and we’ve got to put it right on Saturday.”