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 โI think for the first time this season we have got the energy we want in the side
“And thatโs how we want to play.
โWe 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.
โWe want legs in the side, players who can run and get around the pitch.
โWe looked at Paul Greenโs fitness stats last Saturday against Birmingham in the FA Cup and he ran more than anybody on the pitch.
โAnd his high-intensity running was twice that of the Birmingham midfielders.
โIt just highlights what he can do when he gets a few games under his belt.
โItโs about getting players like him back and fit. We definitely missed him (Green) when he was out.
โWeโve 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, weโve missed them.
โWeโve missed a settled defence, weโve missed all elements, and itโs only when it comes together a little bit โ and itโs early days, we arenโt there by any means โ but itโs only when it comes together you start to think we did miss them.
โWhen you look at the team, thereโs a nice balance about it.
โWeโve got Stephen Pearson and weโve got Robbie Savage and Green, who we wanted in the team all along.
โWeโve got good loans in Michael Tonge and Nicky Hunt, thereโs Hulse and Commons and a settled defensive partnership.
โThese are things weโve wanted and been striving to get since August, but we havenโt been able to do on a regular basis.
โItโs settled and weโre just reaping the benefits, but itโs a long way from being the finished article.โ