Life after Swansea: Why Garry Monk will bounce back from sacking

In guiding Swansea to their highest Premier League finish and points haul in his first full season as a manager, Garry Monk gave a glimpse of his natural talent for the role.

Unfortunately, the former club captain won just three of the first 15 top-flight games in his sophomore campaign and became the fourth managerial casualty of the term as a result.

With Swansea inching closer to hiring Marcelo Bielsa as his successor – the Argentine is 4/5 with Ladbrokes to land the gig – Monk is left plotting his next career move.

Although being unemployed at Christmas is nobody’s idea of a good end to the year, the Englishman has reason to be hopeful that success will soon return to his door.

That’s because each of the Swans’ previous four managers have gone on to enhance their reputations within the game after leaving the Liberty Stadium.

Here’s a look at how:

Michael Laudrup

Sacked by Huw Jenkins in February 2014, Monk’s predecessor was back in football some five months later with Qatari side Lekhwiya.

Although that may not have been the most obvious next step in the Dane’s career, he made the most of it and claimed a league and cup double in his first and only season with the side.

Brendan Rodgers

Despite being a figure of fun for the majority of his time at Liverpool, Rodgers came within a gnat’s hair of claiming the Premier League title before losing grip of his Reds project earlier this term.

He may not have won anything with the Anfield side, but is now being priced up for jobs as high profile as Chelsea and England.

Paulo Sousa

Sousa’s career curve took a little while to turn skywards after leaving Wales, but in the last two seasons the Portuguese has won the Swiss league with Basel and is currently sat four points behind Inter Milan in Serie A with Fiorentina.

Roberto Martinez

The Spaniard jumped into the Premier League with Wigan after helping the Swans survive their first season in England’s second tier in 2008/09.

For much of his time with the Latics the side were considered relegation certainties, yet Martinez managed to steer them clear of the dotted line.

That was until the club were finally relegated in 2012/13, but had a famous FA Cup win over Man City to soften the blow. Martinez is now on course for his second top-six finish in three seasons as Everton boss.

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