Clemence began his career with Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent six years as a professional but never established himself as a regular first-team player.

His season was cut much shorter by a four-day spell in February 1998, during which time Clemence picked up a red card against Barnsley.

He scored three times during his spell at Spurs, his first coming in the 1997–98 FA Cup against Fulham,[4] followed by two league goals against Derby County[5] and Sunderland.

[7] Clemence's injury woes started when he suffered a torn medial ligament in his left knee, following a collision with Blackburn Rovers midfielder Garry Flitcroft in a match at Ewood Park in August 2001.

[12][13] In what turned out to be his last season at Tottenham, Clemence played only once, in a 2–1 League Cup defeat to Burnley on 6 November 2002, in which he picked up a calf injury.

[18] In July 2003, Birmingham City participated in the Premier League Asia Trophy in Kuala Lumpur; they failed to reach the final, but Clemence scored the third goal as they beat the Malaysian national team 4–0 to secure third place.

[23] Clemence suffered a calf problem in a 1–0 defeat to Aston Villa two days later,[24] and on 4 April 2006, he tore a hamstring in a 1–0 win over Bolton Wanderers, sidelining him for the remainder of the season as Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League.

[30] He was linked with a £500,000 move to Charlton Athletic,[31] Southampton were also believed to be monitoring him,[32] while Leicester City were seeking a double signing with teammate DJ Campbell.

[38] Clemence scored his first goal with the stoppage-time winner for Leicester in a 3–2 League Cup win over Nottingham Forest on 18 September,[39] and his second in a 1–1 draw with Charlton Athletic on 29 December.

[42] On 29 March, Clemence tore a calf muscle in a 1–0 win over Scunthorpe United which kept him out for what remained of the season, as Leicester were relegated from the Championship.

[45] As a result, Clemence played no part in the 2008–09 season, while vice-captain Matthew Oakley took over the armband and helped the club regain promotion from League One.

"[37] As of July 2009, Clemence was yet to recover from his heel injury, an ordeal he considered "tough to deal with mentally because this is the longest time I've had out of the game.

[50] Manager Nigel Pearson, however, said on 26 November that Clemence would not be rushed back into the first team, adding he wanted him to be "absolutely spot on" before returning.

[52] On Easter Monday 2010 however, Clemence announced his retirement from football after failing to fully recover from his heel injury,[53] and he was released by Leicester at the end of the season.

[56] In October 2016, after contributing to two promotions to the Premier League and a run to the 2014 FA Cup final, Clemence left Hull City and reunited with Bruce again, this time as Aston Villa's first-team coach.

[82] Clemence is a brother-in-law of both former footballer Dougie Freedman and golfer Brian Davis, who are married to his sisters Sarah and Julie respectively.

[83] On 21 November 2004, Clemence was a witness to racial abuse of his Birmingham City teammate Dwight Yorke during a match at Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park, and gave information to the police.