Philippe Clement: "I am very honored to be at AS Monaco"
Appointed this Monday as coach of AS Monaco until June 2024, Philippe Clement was officially presented this Wednesday, in the auditorium of the La Turbie Performance Center. In the presence of Oleg Petrov, Vice-President Director General, and Paul Mitchell, Sporting Director, the Belgian manager delivered his first words as the Monegasque coach.
Arriving at AS Monaco
I’m very happy to be here, in a really ambitious project, with a lot of young players and a good balance in the squad between these youngsters and more experienced players. I have been in some really interesting projects in Belgium in recent years, but I am very honored to be here at AS Monaco, in one of the top five leagues in the world, and I hope to have as much success as I had in Belgium.
How he sees the squad
I haven’t had a lot of time since I arrived, but in the last few days we’ve watched a lot of the team’s games. I also already had my own impressions because I followed AS Monaco last season and I watched the performances of Krépin Diatta, my former player at Club Bruges. We will necessarily need some time for adaptation to get to know the players and especially their personalities, but we will start today.
His knowledge of Ligue 1
With Club Brugge, we have faced PSG in the last few years in the Champions League, so I have seen a lot of Ligue 1 matches. And then as a coach, we work in relation with the scouting team and there are a lot of interesting players in Ligue 1, so I saw a lot of matches in this very physical league; it’s a division with a lot of commitment, which is ultimately not that different from the Belgian top flight in the style of play, even if the level is higher.
His style of play
We always have to adapt to the qualities of the players, but I always want to have a team that’s dominant, which plays on the front foot, and offers a lot of commitment and desire. With my last clubs, I developed my teams to play in different systems, but always with the idea of being dominant, in the league as well as in Europe. Even though the opponent is sometimes stronger, we have to be ourselves and play our game.
His methods of management
I want to create a family, so that everyone is pulling in the same direction. It is sometimes difficult, but it is interesting to create that. We want to know the players’ qualites but also their mentality. For me and my staff, this has been a strength in years past. I am always thinking about the next match, not only how to win it, but also how to create a good atmosphere in the locker room and the club, with ambitious players who are not afraid of losing. You have to be as strong as possible and create a winning mindset in the squad.
A pressure to get results
Football remains above all a matter passion. I know this pressure well because when I came back to Brugge to coach after winning the title with Genk, that was also the club’s goal and we won it twice in a row. The pressure was there, as Club Brugge had only been champions twice in a row on one occasion in their 130-year history. I like this pressure, it is not a negative because it shows the ambitions of the Club. It’s an interesting environment and one in which I feel comfortable.
