Swansea City lost 2-0 at Leeds three years ago en route to the League One title but froze visibly on the day as they were overwhelmed by their opponents.
But three years on, Monk insists that the Swans are a better side and will give a much better account of themselves today as they look to pick up their first away points of the season.
Speaking to the Western Mail, Monk said “I remember the game well, It was a tough environment to go and play in, in front of a big crowd.
“But we’ve come a long way as a team since losing there three years ago. We’ve progressed really well as a team and established ourselves as a good Championship side with top players who could go on even further.
“I was going through my DVDs a few weeks ago at home and found the Leeds game from the Liberty in the same season, when we beat them 3-2.
“Back then I thought we were a good side who played excellent football, but the team we have now would destroy the team we had three years ago.
“We want to go up there and put a performance on, so we’ll have to use the intimidating atmosphere as motivation to do well.
“Leeds are a club with a massive history and have had a lot of success. But the team they have got now are not the ones who’ve got them that history. We’ve got to remember that.
“This is our third season in the Championship so we must make sure we do not get intimidated.
“This group of players has the capacity to go to any ground in this league and win,” said Rodgers.
“For me it’s the beauty of working with these players, each day they are getting better and better.
“Leeds are a wonderful club with a rich history, but I am very confident we can go there and get a result.
“We are always respectful of the opposition. There are some big clubs at this level. Leeds are one of them, but we are playing against 11 men, not the history of the club.
“We can go there, despite the hostility, and play our own game. That has to be our focus.
“It’s important you start well at these sorts of places, if you impose your game on them it silences the crowd and helps you get a result.
“We’ve been playing really well. We’ve not really had a poor performance yet so we look forward to every game.
“We have to go up there and show it in our performances like we have done so far.
“Darren is a big player for us and it was vitally important we hung on to him in the transfer window.
“He will be very important in terms of where we end up at the end of the season in the league.
“The international boys are back and we are training together as a team, so we need to make sure we get the focus back on the Championship.
“We had a few days off which is always nice, but we trained most of the way through the international break to keep our fitness going.
“It’s a busy month, with games on Saturday and Tuesday all the way through September.
“So hopefully the rest has come at a good time and we can fly through the games.”
