Some noises...

I have a '97 GLX VR6 Jetta. It makes a 'ticking' sound when I let out the clutch to shift in 1st and 2nd and sometimes 3rd. The sound isn't audible after 3rd. It does it every now and then but it does makes some sounds. Also, when I shift to 2nd from 1st, it sometimes makes a rather hefty sounding clunk (kinda unnatural sounding..). I have the slightest clue on what this might be and I haven't taken it to a mechanic as it still drives fine. Any help on this will be highly appreciated.

Could be the clutch is about to fail, could also be a loose clutch cable.