'A stressful time' - Frank Lampard coach lifts lid on…

'A stressful time' - Frank Lampard coach lifts lid on Everton transfer plan and improved defence

Paul Clement has spoken of the tight bond in Everton's coaching team and their efforts to take the club forward.

The first team coach is one of the key men at Finch Farm alongside assistant manager Joe Edwards and fellow coaches Ashley Cole and Chris Jones. All knew each other before being appointed by Frank Lampard through work at Chelsea and elsewhere.

Clement, who described Lampard as a "fantastic player" and "good guy", said of the management team: "We're a tight group, we are all different in our ways and we have our different skillsets but we all know each other very well. It's a very enjoyable coaching staff to work on."

The team oversaw the move to a more pragmatic playing style to help Everton remain in the Premier League and has since sought to develop a more progressive approach. Progress has been clear over first nine games of this season, though growing pains have been visible in recent matches with three goals conceded through mistakes made as the team is being encouraged to play through the middle.

In defence, an area focused on by Clement, Everton have looked more secure and the club has one of the best defensive records in the league. Of the improvements at the back, Clement said: "I think it is a pleasing aspect, we are all pleased about that as a group of coaching staff and players. I think it has come from the manager's strategy and tactics. If we are stronger as a unit defensively we have a much better chance of getting positive results. It's come from the players a lot - some of that is from recruitment in the summer, and also in general, from the team, it has come from that work on the training ground - repetition and drills and exercises in order to get to that point where defensively we have been pretty sound."

A substantial improvement has been visible in the club's defending of set-pieces, which Cole took control of in the summer. Progress has been made in attacking set plays as well and Everton scored from a free-kick against Southampton earlier this month. Explaining what he believed to be the key factors in Everton's season so far, Clement pointed to strategy, training and recruitment. New players, both experienced and rising stars, were having an impact, he said.

Clement, whose previous jobs have included being the manager of Swansea and working on the coaching teams of clubs such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, added: "I think everyone realised what happened at the end of last season, and in the season in general, there needed to be improvements in the squad and changes and strengthening in certain positions. It was a stressful time last year and we were fortunate enough with one game to go to survive in the Premier League. I think the club and the manager and the ownership have done a brilliant job over the summer of getting some really good players in and they have made a difference straight away. We have a good blend of experience, the two central defenders James [Tarkowski] and Connor [Coady] and Idrissa [Gueye] coming back after his time at Paris Saint Germain, but also some good young talent as well, James Garner, he is training really well and is a talented young player and [Amadou] Onana has come in from Lille. It was a good window I think and the squad has definitely improved."

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