Clement a 'father figure' - City director Knapper

Norwich City sporting director Ben Knapper has described head coach Philippe Clement as a "father figure" to his players.

Knapper was in the stands at the Bet365 Stadium on Tuesday night as Norwich went down to a 1-0 defeat by Stoke City which saw them drop to a lowly 19th in the embryonic Championship table.

But despite three defeats from their first four league matches, Knapper was glowing in his praise of Clement's man-management skills having turned the club's fortunes around almost instantly following his arrival last November.

"Philippe is demanding but he's also really good from a human side," Knapper told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"He's an absolute father figure for these boys. We've got a really young squad, maybe the youngest squad in the league, so I think it's a really good fit in that respect.

"He's tough on them but he's also really caring and supportive. I think they all respect that. He's a pleasure to work with."

This season is the fifth consecutive campaign Norwich have been in the Championship after spending five of the previous 10 years in the top flight.

The Canaries did their transfer business early this summer, bringing in five new faces and re-signing Sam Field on a permanent basis, adding their final recruit a good 13 days before the window shut.

And sporting director Knapper, who has been with the club since 2023, is aware the gap between the top two divisions has become greater during his time at Carrow Road.

He said: "It's ultimately the biggest challenge in English football at the moment arguably. For any team that gets promoted out of the Championship to the Prem, it's absolutely about trying to get on to any rock.

"Even to just be remotely competitive is huge. The probability of staying up on the first attempt isn't high historically. It has been done, look at Sunderland, for example.

"But, to come back down, you've got parachute payments. You can be a bit more aggressive then in the Championship and then, when you go back up, be aggressive again.

"That's why that first promotion is so important because if you can do it, even if you were to come back down, it gives you that firepower to put yourself back up there again."

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