Shelvey and Monk looked at loggerheads at the start of the year as Monk criticised his player very heavily and very publically at the back end of last year and for a while everyone assumed that Shelvey would be on his way from Swansea.
But the player has completely turned things around and he has been rewarded this week with a place in the England squad and is heavily tipped to win his 2nd and 3rd caps in the double header against San Marino and Switzerland over the course of the next five days.
Shelvey has not played for his country since his solitary cap, ironically against San Marino. in 2012 but thanks to the work of Monk and a change in his own personal attitude he is very much back in the plans of current England boss Roy Hodsgon as England move closer to qualification for next summer’s finals.
Shelvey is clearly grateful to Monk for the work the Swans boss has done in helping his career along and he said “He loves to have every detail right. We do a lot of meetings off the pitch and he’s always on your case. For me, that’s what I need as a footballer
“He’s different with each player. I think he can one day become England manager because he’s got all the abilities.
“It must be hard going from club captain and hearing the banter in the changing room every day then to make that transition as a manager.
“He’s done that exceptionally well. His banter is still there but not what it was as a player. You’ve seen what we’ve done on the pitch and the results we’ve picked up, how well we did last season and how well we’ve started this one, there’s no reason why he can’t be in the future.”
