Clough will welcome Swansea City to Pride Park this afternoon having seen his side beat Top 3 teams in Nottingham Forest and Newcastle in a three match home winning run.
And he puts some of that form down to continuity now in his team selection after a run of injuries came to an end.
Speaking on the eve of the match, Clough said “I think for the first time this season we have got the energy we want in the side
“And that’s how we want to play.
“We had that at Burton in the last few years. Even when we played Manchester United, I think Sir Alex described us as a very athletic side for the Conference.
“We want legs in the side, players who can run and get around the pitch.
“We looked at Paul Green’s fitness stats last Saturday against Birmingham in the FA Cup and he ran more than anybody on the pitch.
“And his high-intensity running was twice that of the Birmingham midfielders.
“It just highlights what he can do when he gets a few games under his belt.
“It’s about getting players like him back and fit. We definitely missed him (Green) when he was out.
“We’ve missed them all in their own ways. If you look at Rob Hulse and Kris Commons and the problems they caused Birmingham on Saturday and then Preston, we’ve missed them.
“We’ve missed a settled defence, we’ve missed all elements, and it’s only when it comes together a little bit – and it’s early days, we aren’t there by any means – but it’s only when it comes together you start to think we did miss them.
“When you look at the team, there’s a nice balance about it.
“We’ve got Stephen Pearson and we’ve got Robbie Savage and Green, who we wanted in the team all along.
“We’ve got good loans in Michael Tonge and Nicky Hunt, there’s Hulse and Commons and a settled defensive partnership.
“These are things we’ve wanted and been striving to get since August, but we haven’t been able to do on a regular basis.
“It’s settled and we’re just reaping the benefits, but it’s a long way from being the finished article.”
