Monk anticipating tough Newcastle test

2nd October

Garry Monk insists Swansea City face a tough task when they go head-to-head with Newcastle on Saturday (3pm).
The Swans welcome Alan Pardew's side to the Liberty Stadium, with the two sides experiencing contrasting fortunes.
Monk's side currently sit fifth in the Premier League table while Newcastle slipped into the bottom three following Monday's 1-0 defeat against Stoke.
That result left Newcastle winless in the league so far this campaign, but Monk insists that will count for nothing this weekend.


"It will be a very tough game," he said. "Newcastle have a very good squad and good players.
"I know they are in a difficult moment, but I've been there as a player myself and when that happens you become a different animal.
"They will come here and work hard, just as they did against Stoke. But Saturday's game is one we are looking forward to and we want to put on a good performance.
"We are in a good place right now, but we can be even better than what we have been. 
"We have been working very hard to put things in place since pre-season but we need to show more and that's what we are striving for."
Meanwhile, Swans midfielder Jonjo Shelvey became the first Swansea City player to be called up by the senior England squad earlier today.
Shelvey, who has one previous cap to his name, was named in Roy Hodgson's squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against San Marino and Estonia.
"It's excellent news for both the player and the club," he said. "We have a lot of international players in the squad, but we have talked a lot about England in recent weeks and the last couple of seasons.
"We've worked very hard with Jonjo, both in terms of his contribution on and off the pitch.
"He has made big improvements and this will give him a massive boost going forward."