Soccer-Clement must rebuild trust at Swansea, says Bradley

Jan 4 ( Reuters) - Bob Bradley said his successor Paul Clement needed to not only resolve differences between Swansea City's supporters and its American owners but also improve the quality of the current playing squad in order to help the club avoid relegation.

Bradley, who become the first American coach in the English Premier League when he joined Swansea in October, was sacked by the struggling Welsh club after just 11 games in charge last month. Clement was confirmed as manager on Tuesday.

"There is a real trust issue between the supporters and the people involved in the change of ownership. That has to improve," Bradley was quoted as saying by the Irish Times.

"The other aspect is the team. When you take over a team and you're in that part of the table -- just like when I took over from Francesco ( Guidolin) -- it's for a reason. The reason is that the team needs to be improved."

Swansea, who are second-bottom in the league with 15 points, one point adrift of safety after 20 games, travel to face managerless Hull City, who sacked Mike Phelan on Tuesday, in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday. (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Clare Fallon)