There was no prizes for guessing who was the happiest man in the Liberty this evening as Garry Monk made his bow at the helm of Swansea City with a comprehensive three goal demolition of local rivals Cardiff City.

Monk was instilled as head coach at the Liberty in midweek following the departure of Michael Laudrup and couldn't have wished for a harder baptism of fire on derby week but he and his side came through with flying colours to lift themselves back into the top half of the table.

If this was something that Garry wanted to add to his CV then he could not have done it in any more style as second half goals from Wayne Routledge, Nathan Dyer and Wilfried Bony sent the Swansea faithful wild as chants of "Super Garry Monk" rang out around the Liberty for the first time in quite a while.

And if anyone was worried about the reaction of the players you just had to look at the celebrations for each goal and most notably for the first one when captain Ashley Williams ran straight to Monk to celebrate the Routledge goal rather than joining the rest of his team mates in the corner - this was the moment that solidarity returned to the squad amid all the stories following the departure of Laudrup.

A beaming Monk said after the game “I couldn’t have asked for more. I said to the boys that there’s probably no-one prouder than me right now — for the club, for the fans and for all of them.

“The boys were magnificent. We trained with sharpness and intensity — that’s when we are at our best — and the boys played exactly the same way.

“In the first half generally we did okay, although we needed to quicken the passing up when we were circulating the ball. That’s when the gaps come."

Monk's professionalism shone through before, during and after the game and he will certainly have given Chairman Huw Jenkins something to think about as he ponders a permanent appointment once again. As Dean Saunders said on Sky Sports, Jenkins has a habit of always getting it right in terms of managerial appointments and maybe in Monk he has seen another inspired one for the 34 year old club captain.

“I have been at this club for ten years and I have been captain for a long time,” he added.

“My job all along has been to make the players feel welcome and to make them understand what playing for this club is about.

“It’s different here. It’s not like most clubs. All the lads live in the city and they mix with the fans every day — they see them when they go to the shop or go for a coffee.

“The players have been questioned because of the form we’ve been in and I told them to go out and show how good they are.

“We all know they are good players, but they needed that confidence and belief.”

And that confidence and belief was there in abundance today and we can carry that onto the midweek game against Stoke with our heads held high.

Garry Monk's Barmy Army!

Photo: Action Images

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