Monk achievements at Swansea remarkable – Martinez

Garry Monk did a remarkable job in his first managerial job at Swansea City, according to Everton manager Roberto Martinez.

Monk was sacked by the Welsh club on Wednesday following a poor run of form despite guiding Swansea to an eighth-placed finish last season and signing a new contract in July.

Monk played with Martinez at Swansea and was captain of the side under the Spaniard when he returned as manager in 2007.

Martinez is planning to call Monk to offer his support and expects him to be back in management soon.

He said: “What Garry Monk has achieved in his first managerial job has been nothing short of remarkable.

“What he achieved last season with Swansea is going to be in their history for a long time and I’m sure he’s going to have a really refreshing period and then he’s going to be ready to come back.

“Ideally you want to see managers having a long-term project, but it’s gone a little bit too much into the latest runs of results and decisions like this happen.

“Garry Monk was my captain at Swansea and we’ve got a really good professional relationship. I respect him a lot and obviously I want him to feel very, very proud of what he’s achieved.”

Monk’s departure ended an 11-year spell at Swansea that began in 2004 when he joined the then-League Two club, playing for them in all four divisions.

Managers Kenny Jackett, Martinez, Paulo Sousa, Brendan Rodgers, Michael Laudrup and Monk have all played their part in the Swans’ success story, and Martinez backed the club to get it right again.

He said: “I think any Swansea fan needs to trust the chairman and the board because what they’ve done in the last 10 years has been exemplary.

“They’ve always been a football club where they’ve made a decision that nobody expected and it was the one that made the difference.”