Ray Wilkins may have been around the block a few times but it doesn't take a man of his experience to realise that the Swans defence is a shambles and that Paul Clement has a tough job on his hands after he was asked the question about the pending Swansea appointment on Sky Sports.

Reports last night suggested that a deal to bring Clement to Swansea from Bayern Munich was just about complete and he will take over a side that finds themselves bottom of the Premier League with a massive game up next against Crystal Palace who currently occupy 17th place, four points ahead of the Swans.

Defeat on Tuesday night and the position will definitely look more hopeless than it already does which tells you the size of the job that Clement is about to take on but a win on Tuesday and things could look much more optimistic as we take a short break from league action to concentrate on the FA Cup.

Speaking on Sky Sports this morning Wilkins said "I know Paul Clement very well. Guus Hiddink and I brought Paul in when we were at Chelsea. We invited him in to work with us and he did a really good job. He is a good coach.

"I don't know what he is like as a manager because I have not been in that situation with him. Obviously at Derby it was a bit difficult for him and he went back with Carlo (Ancelotti) to Bayern Munich.

"If he is going to leave Bayern Munich he must be ambitious enough to go in to what is a very difficult task for him at Swansea.

"But, nevertheless, these opportunities only crop up once in a while for you take on the mantle of a manager yourself and if he does it then good luck to him because looking at Swansea against Bournemouth it is going to be a difficult task for whoever takes over."

Wilkins pulled no punches in his assessment of the problems that have affected Swansea on the field this season.

"Defensively they are a shambles, that is the only word I can use for it," he added.

"Swansea now have no leaders, they capitulate when things go against them. They have some very good footballers but they just capitulate so their mentality has got to be a lot stronger."

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