The Swansea City captain was speaking in the run up to Rodgers’ return to the Madejski Stadium with the Swans looking for a second successive road victory.<\/p>\n
Ironically it was Rodgers’ other previous club – Watford – who were the opponents last time on the road and now he gets the chance to get one over Reading, the club who dismissed him just 21 games into his reign last season.<\/p>\n
And that dismissal was – according to Monk – a mistake as he explained to the Western Mail \u201cHaving worked with him, I was really surprised things didn\u2019t work out at Reading<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the way I look at it, Reading\u2019s loss is our gain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe training he tried to bring in at Reading is the sort of thing we have been doing for a number of years now.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we are much more suited to his style and what he wants to do. People can see from the results we are getting and the way we are playing he is not a bad manager whatsoever.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, he is a top, top manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was expecting good things and he has not disappointed \u2013 he\u2019s been brilliant with us<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he came in here I knew he was a good manager. I\u2019d spoken to a few boys I know at Reading and they liked him. They thought he was a good coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s said himself that Reading was the right club but at the wrong time.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery manager, apart from a very few of the top ones, have been sacked at one time or another in their career.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because you get sacked somewhere does not mean you are a bad manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was watching a programme about football management recently and it said 10 years ago the average time a manager was given was about two and a bit years. Now it is about 12 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s stupid but that\u2019s the way football is going. It is so crucial when clubs make decisions and get the right man in.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, you are going to make mistakes here and there but you need to get it bang on.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t knock our board, they\u2019ve picked the perfect man for the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is honest with us and that\u2019s all you can ask for in a manager,\u201d said Monk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quality of player he has brought in shows the respect he has in the game and how much people think of him. For me it makes a massive difference to get on with the manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look at all the best managers in the world, probably their top skill is their man-management.<\/p>\n
\u201cJose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp are all top man-managers. It is something our gaffer is very big on.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe talks to every single one of us, not just about football but about everything in your life and things in his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes a massive difference and it\u2019s something I\u2019ve learnt from all the managers I\u2019ve had over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ones who tend to be better are the ones who are good at man-management and it is something I have taken on board when I hopefully go into coaching. It helps you progress as a player.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gaffer won\u2019t make a big deal of it, he didn\u2019t at Watford and he won\u2019t at Reading,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut as players you know in the back of your mind you want to do well for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might give you the extra one or two per cent you need to win a game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe go out to every game with that mentality but it will give us extra satisfaction if we can put in a good performance for the manager.\u201d<\/p>\n