Garry Monk: Yes Swansea beat Manchester United... but I know I can still lose my job - Garry Monk claims he wants to 'earn the right' to be called a top manager - Monk's Swansea side defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season - The 35-year-old is the Premier League's youngest manager - Swans boss has asked for advice from Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez By Riath Al-Samarrai for the Daily Mail Published: 23:50, 19 August 2014 | Updated: 01:15, 20 August 2014 Garry Monk wonât have needed to make one particular phone call this week. His conversations with Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez tend to come when doubts enter his mind, but that doesnât quite apply after a win at Manchester United. There is no need for the discussions he sought this summer after three of his leading players told him they wanted to leave. No need to ask what Rodgers and Martinez would have done - as he occasionally does - but only after he has made his decision and put it into action. Wins at Old Trafford have a habit of helping confidence, especially when coming against a backdrop of criticism. âI pretty much guarantee that everyone in here didnât give us a hope in hell before the game,â he said to the press after Swanseaâs 2-1 win. (Against the odds: Ki Sung-yeung celebrates with manager Monk after opening the scoring against Man United) Winning feeling: Monk claims nobody gave Swansea a chance of winning at Old Trafford before the 2-1 victory Monk has been âwritten off for yearsâ. He will, by declaration, âwork so hard that if I fail I will know I could have done no moreâ. The club joker of the past decade is not smiling and isnât breaking eye contact. In a room called the creche at the Liberty Stadium, the Leagueâs youngest manager tells Sportsmail: âEvery day I am earning the right to be seen as a better manager. I want to earn the right to call myself a top manager. But I know this could be my only chance.â Moments later he yawns; some club staff think he is working too hard. This is a 35-year-old man feeling his way into a brutal trade, where the statistics he quotes say â50 per cent of first-time managers lose their job in the first year and 50 per cent of those wonât go on to manage againâ. Itâs a position he has spent years thinking about, but one he might never have reached if his back hadnât gone into spasm two seasons ago. âThat was a big moment,â Monk says. (Joker: Monk shares a laugh with new Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford on Saturday) Garry Monk: No one gave us a chance in hell today He is trying to make sense of the events that led to him taking over from Michael Laudrup in February. In August 2012 the Dane told Monk he was free to leave. The message was not delivered callously, but it set in motion a sequence of events that may have stopped Monk replacing Laudrup. âI didnât have conversations with Michael about leaving. I read it in the press. I didnât want to go, definitely not. I was close to my 10th year here, we had gone through the divisions together. This is not just a club for me. âBut I know how football works. A move to Bristol City was arranged and Iâm not sure people realise how close I was to going. âI was going to go that weekend but got a back spasm and didnât train for three days. I told them I would be ready in two weeks, but they needed me immediately. It fell through, so I decided to work my nuts off and convince the manager he could rely on me. I ended up playing 15 games that season and the rest is history.â It meant he was at the club and under serious consideration in February when Laudrup was sacked. In the opinion of chairman Huw Jenkins, the clubâs principles were being âerodedâ. (Captain: Monk, pictured in action against Newcastle in 2013, first moved to South Wales in 2004 from Barnsley) Monk, a Swan since 2004, stepped in as caretaker, several years ahead of schedule. He slept one hour a day in his first four days on the job and opened with a derby demolition of Cardiff. They finished 12th and barring a week off in the summer with his partner, their young daughter and five-month-old twins, Monk has not stopped since Laudrup left. âItâs been so hectic Iâve barely had time to think,â he says. The early part of his summer was dominated by the fallout of talks with Michu, Pablo Hernandez and Chico Flores, all of whom said they wanted to leave. âI wanted to keep them but they wanted different challenges,â says Monk. âI made a decision that I only wanted players who really wanted to be here so I let them go. Itâs important here that players want to be part of this group.â Once the decisions were made, he phoned a couple of old Swansea managers who help when they can. âI tend to act first, then call,â Monk says. âBrendan (Rodgers) and Roberto (Martinez) have been great. I [donât] just call up managers and ask what to do. Iâll deal with it myself because I feel that is the way Iâll learn. If I think I have done it right then great, but if I think I could have done it better Iâll ask for advice, âThis is how I dealt with it. How would you deal with it?" âEvery mistake I have learnt from. I had chats with Brendan about the situation with players leaving. I have asked about situations he and Roberto had. But it was only after I did something myself - there is a lot to learn and often not much time.â Advice: Monk has learnt from former Swansea managers Brendan Rodgers (left) and Roberto Martinez (right) Time comes up frequently in this conversation. âI know how hard it is to stay in this business,â he says. âI know that as well as I get on with the board, they will not hesitate to do what is best for the club if we donât perform. âBut if you manage by fear of that youâre done. You have to keep learning until you are a good manager - you have to use your time well. I am in this job and now I have to work as hard as I can to learn fast and make it a success. âItâs all happened very quickly. My thought process was to do my badges, carry on with the Under 13s and probably head into the academy and build myself up. But the situation changed. âIt was always my hope to manage this club but I thought it would be far into the future. It might not have come again, so do I stand up and be counted or lay down and die? I have always stood up to be counted.â With that, the man who made the â£90million blockâ to stop Noel Huntâs shot in the 2011 play-off final against Reading is diving into his memory, from League Two to Premier League. âPeople talk about what it was like when I first got here, but in 2012 we were a Premier League club training at a health club. âYouâd come in thinking about playing Chelsea and in the shower youâd have an 80-year-old man next to you, asking what happened in the previous game. Thatâs Swansea. I love this club. âItâs part of our journey. We have top-class facilities now but when Michael Laudrup joined his office was a cupboard under the stairs.â Monk is laughing. He says management gained him 2,000 followers on Twitter and that âtwins are easier to deal with than players because they donât answer back. They only care about getting fed and CBeebiesâ. He sets aside an hour a night where he ignores his phone. âIt is so hard to switch off but I try,â he says. The phone has buzzed three times in this interview. âAfter downtime at home there are always missed calls I struggle to return,â he says. âThatâs the job.â If he has his way - and more results like at Old Trafford - it will be his for a while yet.
Most open, seemingly honest, interview yet. This interview answers some questions I and others had over the summer, some decisions taken make more sense now. I took out my frustrations at what was happening on Monk over the summer but I was wrong to do this in retrospect....it's the board who decided to play the high risk game of appointing a rookie and rebuilding a squad in 1 summer. As a consequence some top performers have left on the cheap and we've had to shell out to replace them. This is the board's responsibility not Monk. I blamed Monk for under selling Davies but that was foolish of me, the board will have negotiated and accepted the deal. So if Monk reads fan's forums, here's 1 fan who is happy to apologise to you. I am only left with a couple of doubts.... 1) the vocal criticism of Sousa (going to the board to complain about him...reported disrespect being shown by Monk to Sousa in training). 2) similar rumours concerning Monk and Michael Laudrup, and Monks comments concerning Laudrup post sacking.
Tbh I think it's because Monk feels so passionately about the club, he probably felt he couldn't just stand by as club captain and let it all turn to dust
Yes, a good interview Terror, but nothing has changed at all for me after reading it. Nobody has ever questioned how hard the guy works or his love for this Club. Unlike some I've never criticised him for being an 'idiot' and so on but I have voiced my real concerns about appointing such a rookie manager at this level. My concerns were twofold - firstly would we be able to attract quality players? That's been answered to a degree already, but especially so if the Fernandez and Stambouli signings come off. Secondly, does he have the tactical nous required at this level? Last season didn't convince me that he has but on Saturday he got everything spot on, including the substitutions. Credit where it's due. Jury still out for me so I'll judge Monk after ten games or so, but nobody can question his commitment that's for sure.
Surely you haven't forgotten that he was in charge for most of the second half of last season? You're talking like he just walked into the job.
Great interview. Also reassuring to know that he contacts Roberto and Brendan for advice. And I fully agree with him regarding the players gone, if they don't want to be here, then selling/loaning them is the best thing to do. Thanks Terror
Sorry Aswan but wasn't convinced by those performances, other than perhaps the Cardiff game which everyone should have been up for. Decent but ultimately unsuccessful v Napoili, but have to say Saturday made me think I might well be wrong and I hope I am. Just my opinion.
I still am not convinced that the gamble will come off, that he won't change our style away from 4-5-1 possession football, that he'll manage players who fall out with him correctly.....was just referring to some stick I gave him regarding the transfer business. The stick I gave him was unwarranted....if players wanted out that will have been due to the board's decision to handle the Laudrup sacking the way they did and the decision to appoint Monk.....if (as I believe) we were not getting full value for the players we sold, that was due to the board also. Actually, something just occurred to me, if Monk hadn't made it so obvious that he wanted rid of the likes of Canas and Pozuelo perhaps we could have picked up some money for them this summer. As it is the clubs circling Canas know we want rid...puts them in the driving seat. ...but in the main I put responsibility for the expense of it all (and the risk involved) on the board's shoulders. Monk's been put in this position and he's trying his best (....and yes, his complaints behind manager's backs imply that he wanted the position, but it was the board who took that decision). Last Saturday we played 4-5-1 on the counter, we kept a tight shape and the players worked their bollocks off for each other......in other words, exactly how we played under Laudrup (when we won against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd etc.)....in other words exactly how we played under Rodgers, Sousa, and (on occasion) Martinez (we were looser in general then but I do remember some good tight defensive performances on occasion!) So I'm not saying he's a tactical genius that is innovating and evolving our style (hammering QPR, and playing sublime attacking football against West Brom has been the pinnacle of our football for me so far)....if anything I am concerned about his use of 4-4-2 and the tendency to play longer, earlier, balls. I'm just saying that we had lost that team /work ethic. Most seem to lay that at Laudrup's door, I and others put it at the old guard's door (causing problems behind the scenes for Laudrup and being openly hostile to some of the new players....on the pitch, never mind training)....and Saturday saw it's return. So maybe he was right about differences being irreconcilable and maybe the clear out and raft of new players will herald a fresh start in terms of team morale.....I still think it's expensive and high risk.....but maybe it will work. Will still wait until at least 10 games before I form a firm opinion of whether we are on the right road or not....but it was good to see the players work for each other again and I am less hostile to Monk as a result. Just giving credit where it's due
I'm sure we all have some doubts about Monk, but why not let him get on with the job. I don't see the need to keeping posting these doubts on every thread. Give the guy some support. No need to keep repeating yourselves.
Not to mention we now have a manager who won't be looking to move elsewhere after a couple of seasons and hopefully will bring some much needed stability to the hotseat.
and for us as well , "is he isn't he going" although he's shown he's ambitious so who knows if he's a success how long he'll be here .
Who's not giving him a chance? Nobody. Who's not giving him support? Nobody. Who's not letting him get on with the job? Nobody. It's a forum and people have opinions. Almost all the posts I've read have been complimentary about Monk after Saturday and rightly so - but let's all stop complimenting him because there's "no need to keep repeating" ourselves is there?
Some people are just repeating the same opinions over and over again. Boring and pointless. If we beat Burnley I already know what he comments from these people will be... Yes, we did great but Monk hasn't proved himself yet, blah, blah, blah. Some are just waiting (and hoping) for Monk to fail. That's how it comes across to me.
They are indeed. But then that's human nature, we're a mixed bunch. Best to just skip such posts, or threads, as I've been doing. At least the Man Utd result has brought out some grudging praise I thought it was a great interview, honest and from the heart. The jury is still out, obviously, on whether he can really cut it tactically but his conviction, commitment and passion are there for all to see. I'm not only optimistic right now, I'm positively excited! So sod reality, I'm better off in my own little world
You genuinely believe that there are posters here hoping Monk (and therefore we) fail? Absolute bollocks. If you think posters' views and posts are "pointless" then why bother coming here and adding your own? Everyone is entitled to an opinion and also entitled to state it here providing they stay within the rules. It's a forum! Jeez!
There was only one poster that predicted a Swans 2-1 win over MANU before the game kicked off, and it was not the OP or his side kicks, just get behind Monk as it's getting embarrassing now girls!……..
