After seven losses this season – a feat that currently sees Swansea City sit second from bottom in the Premier League table – it’s now more than acceptable to ask whether Paul Clement should leave the club.

The easy answer is yes. Yes he should.

When you look at how we’ve started the season, there’s no suggestion that things are going to get better. After similar miserable spells, Garry Monk had to go, Francesco Guidolin had to go, and Bob Bradley certainly had to go.

So forcing Paul Clement out is a sensible move, isn’t it?

Well, it’s a tough one. Mainly because it’s not completely his fault. But it’s never entirely a manager’s fault is it?

Poor managers, they clearly spend hours plotting game plans and drilling their players. They are then forced to watch from the sidelines as those very players screw it all up.

Look at Saturday’s loss to Brighton. Paul Clement clearly didn’t tell the players to play like a pub team. He didn’t tell Tom Carroll to pass it into touch. Or for Fede Fernandez to freeze when the ball was played into the box. And I’m sure he didn’t tell Ki Sung Yueng to ensure the 94th minute corner – the final chance of the game – was tamely passed to a Brighton defender.

Clement was visibly angry during the match, and his post-match comments show he’s not living in a complete delusion. While he won’t admit Swansea are in a crisis, he accepts that the side may have to ‘win ugly’ to stop the vicious cycle of poor performances and bad results.

Hang on… does that mean they’ve been trying to ‘win pretty’ over the past few weeks? If so, I dread to think what ugly actually looks like!

While it’s clear he’s not fully to blame, it’s Clement who picks the side, motivates the players, makes subs, and – ultimately – must take the flak.

Sadly, the owners (who are actually as much to blame as Clement and the players) aren’t going to fire themselves. So in this situation, with the club doing so badly, is there any other choice but to sack the manager?

The old cliche springs to mind – ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.’

Going on to face Burnley in a few weeks with Clement as manager and the same team, is there any hope of actually getting a result? I’d say probably not.

In reality, as unsettling as sacking a manager is for any club, it usually impacts results. Players, who seemed devoid of any skill or desire, suddenly look reinvigorated. Losses become draws and draws become wins. In the end it’s usually worth the uncertainty.

While Clement seems like a decent guy – and we know he’s not the only one to blame – my gut feeling is to sack him now, while there’s still plenty of time to salvage the season.

I could be wrong – he could turn things around. But I feel a change is needed now more than ever.