He doesn’t mess around does Philippe Clement. Disappoint him at your peril.
He has warned Amankwah Forson and Paris Maghoma that they must raise their physical output before they can be relied upon for City’s Championship run-in, despite the club currently having 13 senior in the treatment room.
Forson came off the bench in the 82nd minute of Sunday’s 3-0 FA Cup defeat to Leeds United, his first competitive action since suffering a hamstring injury in December. It was a small step back, but Clement made clear that simply being available again is only half the job.
He has demanded that both Forson and January signing Maghoma reach a level of “robustness” he considers non-negotiable for the final stretch of the season.
Maghoma, who joined from Brentford in the January window, is described as “ahead of schedule” in his conditioning work and featured for 63 minutes at Elland Road before being replaced by Anis Ben Slimane. But Clement wants more from both players physically before he trusts them with regular Championship minutes.
Mattsson return some rare good news
Currently, Clement can barely afford to leave anyone on the sidelines by choice. The injury list grew again on Sunday when goalkeeper Dan Grimshaw was forced off at half-time with a calf problem, with Clement confirming the issue post-match while noting he awaits further assessment.
Louie Moulden is expected to step up as backup to first-choice Vladan Kovacevic.
Grimshaw joins a casualty list that already includes long-term absentees Mirko Topic and Ante Crnac (both ACL), Shane Duffy, Jeffrey Schlupp, Gabe Forsyth, and Harry Amass, alongside Mo Toure, Oscar Schwartau, Matej Jurasek, Lucien Mahovo, and Jovon Makama.
The rarity of some good news came in the form of Clement confirming that Pelle Mattsson may feature tomorrow night against Sheffield United (7:45 KO).
“I’m not a doctor. Sometimes I wish I was,” Clement said. “I can only hope and pray but, for sure, it feels like we are the wrong side of the injuries. It’s a big list already from players that we miss again for the moment.”
Cupboard is bare
Clement has performed miracles to move City from 23rd when he replaced Liam Manning in November to the relative safety of mid-table, winning 10 of 15 league games in that spell. But the squad is stretched to breaking point.
The Belgian has asked his players to contribute rather than look for sympathy: “They need to be involved in the story and show it every day in the training,” Clement said. “It’s about the reaction, what they do on the pitch, and the braveness and to be there united together in whatever position to do the job for the team.”
Whether Forson and Maghoma will be trusted with too much/any meaningful involvement tomorrow night remains to be seen – he had previously spoken of carefully managing Maghoma’s minutes.
But it appears he believes that now is the time for Forson to step up.
