Chris Sutton has revealed one thing Philippe Clement must do at Norwich City - It's a 'priority' | OneFootball

Former Norwich City striker Chris Sutton has revealed what new Norwich City head coach Philippe Clement must do after taking over at Carrow Road.

Former Norwich City striker and pundit Chris Sutton believes keeping the club in the Championship must be the priority for new Canaries head coach Philippe Clement this season after taking over at Carrow Road.

Norwich had been searching for a new head coach following the sacking of Liam Manning earlier this month, with the ex-Bristol City boss departing after a nightmare run of 11 league games without a win that left the club sitting 23rd in the table, four points from safety.

Former Canaries duo Mark Fotheringham and Russell Martin were both linked with the managerial vacancy after Manning's exit, while the Norfolk outfit were also said to have held talks with Will Still, Gary O'Neil and Jon Dahl Tomasson, but the latter pair both pulled out of the running in recent days.

Despite his name barely being mentioned during the recruitment process, Norwich confirmed the surprise appointment of Clement on Tuesday morning, with the ex-Rangers manager putting pen to paper on a four-year contract to keep him at Carrow Road until the summer of 2029.

Clement has been out of work since being sacked by Rangers in February at a time when his side were 13 points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership table, while they had also just been eliminated from the Scottish Cup after a humiliating home defeat by second tier side Queen's Park.

However, Clement did win 55 of his 86 games in charge of the Gers, drawing 15 and losing 16, which gave him a win percentage of 64%, and he also led the Glasgow outfit to Scottish League Cup success during his first season at Ibrox.

Chris Sutton outlines clear Philippe Clement priority after Norwich City appointment

Sutton, who scored 36 goals and provided 15 assists in 119 appearances for Norwich as a player, regularly comments on events at his former club, and he took to social media to share his reaction to the appointment of Clement.

Earlier this month, Sutton admitted he felt "really sorry" for Manning after his sacking, and he claimed that he was "essentially being the fall guy for not getting the best out of the bang average new recruits" and was not the "primary reason" why the Canaries are in their current predicament.

Sutton is certainly no stranger to Clement's work having covered plenty of Rangers games during the Belgian's tenure at Ibrox as a pundit for Sky Sports, and he wished him well in his new role at Carrow Road, while he also insisted that the 51-year-old's main priority should be keeping Norwich in the Championship this season.

"Good luck to the big Belgian Philippe Clement at Norwich City. Not an easy task taking over a team low on quality and confidence. Staying up this season is the priority," Sutton wrote on X.

Clement will take charge of the Canaries for the first time on Saturday when they make the trip to face Birmingham City at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park before back-to-back home games against Oxford United and Queens Park Rangers next week.

Philippe Clement facing instant Norwich City pressure as relegation fears increase

Sutton was strongly critical of Clement during his time as Rangers manager, and while he may have taken some pleasure in his struggles at Ibrox given his Celtic connections, he will no doubt be hoping he can help turn around the fortunes of his former club Norwich.

Given the disappointing end to Clement's spell at Ibrox, the Canaries have certainly taken a big gamble by appointing him as Manning's replacement, and with the club already sitting four points from safety, he cannot afford to get off to a slow start at Carrow Road.

While the club's summer signings have been underwhelming, Norwich's squad on paper should be capable of performing at a far higher level than they have so far this season, but the fact they are languishing in the relegation zone and are yet to pick up a point at home shows the size of the task Clement is facing, and Sutton is right that Championship survival must be his first priority.