Passenger door lock cover

Hi all, I've had the problem with the sticky lock on my octavia front passenger door and I want to take out the lock to clean the mechanism.

Prob is that I can get to the lock easily from the back but it has to be disconnected from the door handle which has a cover where the lock would be on a lhd.

I have a trim tool and started prising the cover loose but it was tight and it occurred to me that there may be clips that will break if i continue.

question is - if i continue to use the trim tool to prise the cover off will i end up buying a new one?