Hartson hails Monk after record-breaking campaign
8th June
John Hartson has hailed the work of Garry Monk after he enjoyed a record-breaking first full season in charge of the club.
The Swans ended an impressive campaign in eighth place in the Barclays Premier League - their highest finish since winning promotion to the top-flight four years ago.
Monk's men also broke a number of club records along the way, including their highest points tally (56) and record number of league wins (16) in the Premier League.
And Hartson had nothing but praise for the Swans boss as he reflected on a fantastic campaign in SA1.
"It was a brilliant season," he said. "I think Garry exceeded everyone's expectations and for him and the club to have the season they had is a credit to himself.
"He's a clever manager. He learned an awful lot when he was a player, especially from the likes of Roberto (Martinez) and Brendan (Rodgers) as well as other managers before him, and he's been very impressive.
"The players seem to take on board everything that he wants them to do, so on a whole I think the season went fantastically well."
The Swans came within a whisker of qualifying for next season's Europa League after a strong finish to a campaign that included historic league doubles over both Manchester United and Arsenal.
And with next season's fixtures to be announced on June 17, Hartson believes a similar campaign to last will be just fine for 2015-16.
"I think something similar or a top ten finish would be a good season," he said. "Cup runs are great but the Premier League is massive now, particularly with the money that is about to come in.
" But I think the plan will be to keep the core of the squad but you always need to bring a couple of players in because that is healthy and good for the squad.
"And Swansea are a very attractive proposition right now - there's a real good feel-factor around both the club and the city."
