Only two months ago, sitting on the bench as Swansea manager was one of the best positions you could find yourself in. The Jacks were cruising through the Premier League, occupying a Champions League spot after four games.

Making good results in less than a handful of matches proved to be less important when the long-term results are missing. Swansea manager, Garry Monk, found it hard to keep his team marching strongly as they were in the opening rounds of the season. After the September international break the Swans started fading away, drowning into the lake they were swimming in so graciously a couple of weeks earlier.

Swansea City, with the rampant Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew leading them, have beaten Manchester United and ever since never looked quite the same.

Poor displays started with disheartening 1-0 loss at Watford’s Vicarage Road. Draws against Everton and Tottenham were only disguising poor situations on the

pitch, where Monk’s players had problems finding the net.

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After almost a third of the season completed, the manager is under great pressure. His team won only once in the last eight matches – against the league’s worst side so far, Aston Villa – a horrific result for a team chasing a top half finish.

Monk had October matches at his disposal to put the team back on track, but now is rumoured to have one last chance to make things right – a trip to Bournemouth after the November’s international break.

One of the reasons for poor results lies in the small squad Monk is using. Though he kept most of the players from last season, with addition of new ones, Monk still doesn’t rotate them much. Only Ayew was good enough to find a place in THE starting XI, while Eder and the left back Franck Tabanou haven’t found their ways at the club.

Monk has used only 17 players so far this season, with eight of them playing in all 12 Premier League matches. This brings us to a conclusion that Monk’s substitutions aren’t good enough to find the place in the starting XI even when the first choice players are in poor form. Gomis hasn't scored a single goal in his last eight matches, yet Eder gets his chances off the bench. Even when the Portuguese striker is on the pitch, the impact he has is minimal.

Eight players are yet to play in the Premier League this season, showing that Monk’s trust in 13 or 14 players he expected to pull this team forward, wasn’t the very best idea.

One of the hurtful things is Monk’s inconclusiveness. He showed his inability to adapt to the new circumstances, as he is not making any changes whatsoever. Only once he tried to play in a different system, with Ayew and Gomis being strikers in 4-4-2 formation, but Southampton managed with it quite easily in a 3-1 victory at St Mary’s. Monk didn’t show actual eagerness to turn things around and the argument he has only 13 to 14 players in the core of the team isn’t in his favour.

On the example of Leicester City and their manager Claudio Ranieri, Monk could learn a lot. Ranieri’s tinkering isn’t as often as it was expected, but he is adapting to new situations when needed. The Foxes have great desire even when they are two goals behind and Monk must try to implement the determination and character into his squad.

As young as the Swansea manager is, it is normal he makes mistakes. The most important thing for him is to address those mistakes as soon as possible and do everything to change things around before it’s too late.

The tough schedule approaches Swansea. After the trip to the Vitality Stadium after the international break, they will play Liverpool (A), Leicester City (H), Manchester City (A) and West Ham (H) all before the Boxing Day. If Monk remains in his position, it will mean he managed to pull the squad out of the horrific run of form and actually won some games during that period.

In that case, it is hard to see Monk leaving any time soon, as he will enter the January transfer window with money at his disposal to strengthen the squad for the second part of the campaign.

On the other hand, the tough schedule before the end of December could be critical. Something drastic would need to happen in the meantime and it seems unlikely. The Swansea board will probably try to find a replacement to make an instant impact on the squad morale, though Monk is supposedly a long term solution.

The potential new manager would have the January transfer window ahead of him, giving him space to add new players, and depending of the person who could inherit this team, Swansea could even change their tactical appearance.

No matter what happens in the following weeks, it is hardly going to be a turbulent-free month for Swansea fans.

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