Planet Swans ArchivesGarry Monk will lead the Swans out at Anfield on Saturday with the memories of one of his worst football memories in his mind
Monk was part of a Southampton side hammered at Liverpool 7-1 back in 1999 and Monk wants to banish the ghosts from that game on Saturday.
He told the Western Mail “It was my worst experience in football
“It really was one to forget – but I can’t.
“I was only a young lad at the time and had played a couple of games before.
“I’d played against Everton and then been in the side that beat Wimbledon at home at The Dell, so I’d kept my place.
“But the whole team was poor and everything they hit went in. I had a bad game and at 19 I needed support around, but we were awful and it wasn’t there.
“It was embarrassing and it really left a mark on me. It’s something I still think about to this day and before every game I have a little word with myself and promise to never let it happen again.
“It’s been a motivation since because no-one wants to go through that.
“There’s been plenty of occasions in my career when I’ve been down and disappointed, but no-one wants to be embarrassed as I was that day.
“It’s been a motivation for me, but they are also memories I want to put right.
“After Bolton pulled one back we showed we can grow from our experiences.
“If we’d thrown that one away like we did at Wolves then it could have left a scar.
“Instead we showed that we’ve dealt with what happened and we’ve moved on from it.
“Now we have to build on what we’ve done away from home.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Liverpool. They are a fantastic team, a fantastic club with a fantastic history – but we go there looking to win.
“We’ve been to Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea, so we know what to expect.
“We feel we’re growing into things and we want to grow further.
“We want that next step which is a win away from home and that’s what we’re looking for at Liverpool.”
