Former Swansea City player and manager Garry Monk used a CPD coaching course at Queen's University's Dub sporting complex on Saturday to share his footballing experiences and announce he's ready to get back into the game.
Monk, who captained the Welsh club as they moved through the four divisions to take their place in England's top flight, shared his thoughts with around 60 coaches, who included Coleraine's Oran Kearney, Dundela's Niall Currie and Ballyclare Comrades' Stephen Small.
“One day I was a player and the next in charge of, not only the team, but the whole club,” recalled a smiling Monk.
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“Like most of you here I had already completed my UEFA B and A Licence by this stage in my career, and while that helped when it came to getting across my coaching ideas, it didn't fully prepare me for many other aspects of managing a Premier League club.
“Because I wanted to experience every aspect of the job I didn't delegate too many roles in the early stages, instead I thought I was showing leadership by arriving at the club at 7am and staying until 10pm, having had an input in just about every aspect of team affairs.”
The 43 year old's first game in charge of Swansea saw them defeat derby rivals Cardiff City 3-0 – on his watch they also finished second in their Europa League Group A behind Spanish club Valencia, having reached the last 32 before being knocked out of the competition by Rafa Benitez's Napoli on a 3-1 aggregate scoreline.
In his first season though the club survived being drawn into a relegation battle with a game to spare, Monk's efforts being rewarded with a three-year deal on May 7, 2014.
The subsequent 2014-15 season saw Monk's Swansea reach new highs when he oversaw the club's first ever league win at Old Trafford in the opening game of the new season – further wins over Burnley (1-0) and West Brom (3-0) helped him win the Premier League Manager of the month award for August as they went joint top of the table.
A second win against Arsenal on May 11, 2015 meant that the Swans became only the third side in Premier League history to have won home and away to both the Gunners and Manchester united in the same season – that campaign saw them finish in eight position with their highest ever point tally – Monk rewarded with a new three-year contract in July of that year.
More experienced in the role of managing at the highest level, Monk outlined to his captive audience the coaching practices he successfully adopted at Swansea, before having to alter them when at Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday.
“By and large I was able to keep in place the style of play at Swansea that I had been accustomed to as a player, unfortunately that wasn't the case during my time at other clubs,” admitted Monk.
“My spells at Leeds, Middlesbrough, Birmingham and Wednesday all turned out to be fire-fighting jobs, where I had about a five-week window to improve results before pressure came to bear from fans and the board.
“All those clubs had fallen from grace but their supporters, and chairmen, still had a high level of expectations when it came to performances.
“I basically had to put in a system of play that suited the squad of players I had at those clubs in an attempt to get us out of trouble.
“That is the reality of managing at a club where you know you've both a limited budget and time to get things right.”
In Belfast at the invitation of the Mid Ulster Youth League Player Development Programme, the still fit looking Mon delivered a practical morning and afternoon session when, with the help of the County Antrim Super Cup squad, he demonstrated his defensive and attacking principles that he put into place during his time in management.
At the end of the day, Monk took a few general questions relating to both his time as a player and manager – one in particular about his thoughts on our own Brendan Rodgers – gleaned during the two-year period that the Carnlough man was in charge at the Liberty Stadium.
“Brendan was without doubt the best man-manager I have ever played under,” said Monk, recalling a story that brought a chorus of laughter from the assembled coaches.
“We had travelled to play an FA Cup tie and my team-mate, who was rooming with me at our hotel, had been singled out by Brendan after our previous game as our best player was called in to see the boss and told he wouldn't be in the first 11.
“When he came out of the meeting and I asked him what had happened he said 'he didn't know', the boss had just used Rodgers speak to tell him he wasn't starting and instead of being angry he was just happy to be on the bench.”
On a more serious note though, when asked as to what level he'd be happy to reset his managerial career, his answer being at any club with ambition was one I'd expected to hear having spent the day in his company.
“I'm a man without any big ego problem, so if I get an offer from a good club with the right people in charge I'd be happy to speak to them,” confirmed Monk.
It may not be too long before this dad of young twin boys will be back doing what he has an obvious talent for.
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