Planet Swans ArchivesSwansea club captain Monk said Wednesday’s night’s win over Liverpool and their narrow defeat at Premier League champions Manchester City last weekend has given them the belief that they should no longer fear any side.
They host star-studded Chelsea at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow who have averaged more than two goals a game this season under Roberto Di Matteo.
Having added the likes of Eden Hazard and Oscar to their frontline since winning the Champions League last May, Chelsea are now being taken serious as title contenders but Monk says the Swans are full of confidence.
Monk said: “We have belief, I think the game against Man City showed us that we can go to the champions, put in that sort of performance and really take it to them.
“In the end we should have got something from that game.
“We are in a big game week but ever since I’ve been here we’ve had big games relative to that league and we’ve always risen to the occasion.
“On our day we’re good enough to compete with anyone, anyone in Europe, anyone at all, we just have to make sure we’re on it.
“We showed that in the Man City game, we showed it again against Liverpool and hopefully we’ll show it against Chelsea.
“Our mind set has changed, but you can’t just say that, you need evidence.
“The result against Liverpool and performance against Manchester City, albeit we lost, has given us belief that we can achieve things and not just talk about it.”
Swansea’s win at Anfield was the first time they have taken a big scalp away from home since winning promotion back to the top flight in 2011.
Under Brendan Rodgers the Swans humbled Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool at the Liberty but never really went close to beating one of the traditional big clubs away from home.
The league cup win over Liverpool has been hailed as a landmark moment for Swansea under new boss Michael Laudrup.
“We went to Anfield last year, looked at all the names on their team sheet, for a lot of the boys it was their first season in the Premier League and we thought we hope we can get something,” added Monk.
“We came here this time knowing that if we were on it we could get a result.
“We’re not just players that have come up a league now, we’re Premier League players, we’re top players and we deserve to be where we are.
“Of course Chelsea are a step up, they’re the reigning European champions with a lot of attacking talent.
“On paper they are a fantastic side, there’s everything that goes along with being European champions so it’s going to be great for our fans.
“But we’re not here to make up numbers, we’re here to win games and that’s the attitude we’ll take into that match.”
Monk was a second half replacement for Chico Flores against Liverpool and could be in line to start his first Premier League start of the season if the Spanish defender fails to recover in time.
Swansea are going to give Flores until as late as possible tomorrow to recover from the dead leg he suffered at Anfield but boss Laudrup admitted the £2m signing was “doubtful” for the game against Chelsea.
Monk added: “All I can do is try and be ready. “I tried to do my best (against Liverpool), I thought I did okay and we got the win which is the most important thing.
“Whatever happens I’ll do my best for the club and when I get a chance I’ve got to make the most of it.”
