Garry Monk’s anticipated dismissal as Swansea City manager appeared to move a step closer yesterday as chairman Huw Jenkins declared that “something needs to change”.
British media reports suggest Monk’s hours at the Liberty Stadium are numbered after a run of one win in 11 games that has seen the Welsh club slide to within a point of the relegation zone. “We all feel at the club that something needs to change to get things back on a positive note as quickly as possible and get us back to the levels of performances we have got to have to win games at the Premier League level,” said Jenkins, who was in London to collect an honour at Buckingham Palace.
Asked if an announcement about Monk’s future would be made on Tuesday, Jenkins replied: “Not today, because I am up here.”
Monk took training as usual on Tuesday, having reportedly held talks on Monday with Jenkins, who has been appointed to the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Welsh football by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. Monk, 36, led Swansea to an eighth-place finish last season—his first full season at the helm—but recent results, culminating in Saturday’s 3-0 loss at home to Leicester City, have left him exposed. “The difference between the end of August and how we find ourselves today is something we haven’t experienced at Swansea before, such a big change around from where we were after beating Man United in the last game in August,” Jenkins added. “I think it just again highlights if things are not dealt with and addressed early enough the Premier League is very unforgiving, and unless every angle and everybody’s focus is 100 percent week in, week out, things can change very quickly.”
Former Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers and David Moyes, recently sacked by Real Sociedad, have been touted as potential successors to Monk.