Swansea City skipper Garry Monk will be hoping that the club can extend the Christmas cheer into boxing day as the Swans look to end a six game draw streak at the expense of Coventry City.
Just four points off the play off places in tenth the former Southampton defender has signalled his intent not to get complacent as he told the SWEP, he said “We are not going to start being complacent,but we are not looking behind us anymore. We have played everyone in the division now and, as we keep on saying, there is absolutely nothing for us to fear at this level.”
Going into 2009 on a high after putting in good performances this season, Monk has urged his team-mates to push on and really trouble teams in the top half of the championship, he said “We have to make sure we push right on now and put pressure on the teams above us in the table.”
Heralding the past 12 months as the best in his career to date the 29 year old has highlighted the importance of the league one winning season despite the Leeds United saga that threatened to overshadow the achievements seen by Roberto Martinez’s side on the pitch, he added “”It’s been the best year of my career. I think it’s got to be among the best in the history of the club. We got back into the Championship after 24 years and now we are doing well at the next level and looking to do even better.”
“Winning the League One title was the best experience I’ve had in football. Finishing on top of a professional league is very difficult to do — it’s something most players never manage.To be the outright champions after the whole Leeds United saga was very important to us and I know it’s a career highlight for every one of our players.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the season , the pressure from within the squad has played heavily on the defenders mind and has also expressed his frustration on not been able to pick up vital wins that would have catapulted the Swans up the table, he said “No-one puts more pressure on us than we do ourselves.We know we probably should have won four of the last six games and we are disappointed with that aspect.”
“But then you look at our performances this season and, apart from Reading and Barnsley, our performances have been really good. The stats from the run of draws show that nine times out of 10, we would have won those games. But having said that, we all realise that the biggest stat of all is how many times you put the ball in the back of the net.”
“We have to make sure we start doing that more often and, at the same time, try to keep a few more clean sheets.We are limiting teams to a few chances, but when they come they seem to be going in, so we have to defend better.”
