Garry Monk believes Swansea City have to win one more match to secure a fifth successive season in the top-flight of English football.
The Liberty Stadium club made their Premier League debut in the 2011-12 campaign following promotion from the Championship via the playoffs, and they comfortably finished in mid-table. They improved on this with a ninth place position the following term, when they also won the League Cup to qualify for the UEFA Europa League, and last time round they ended in 12th place.
Some pundits had the Swans as potential relegation materiel this season, but they have once more impressed despite an early FA Cup exit at the hands of second-tier Blackburn Rovers. In the league they completed a historic double over Manchester United at the weekend which takes them to 37 points, but Monk believes they are still one win away from ensuring their top-flight status.
“Of course it’s a big motivation,” he said ahead of the trip to Burnley on Saturday. “I think we have to use that type of stat as a motivation to go on and do well. It’s an extremely tough game at the weekend, it’s not going to be easy at all, but the motivation and the drive has to be for that outcome. We have to do all that we can to try and make sure we get that outcome, but it is going to be very difficult.
“Burnley are a very intense team, very fit and they cover much of the ground. We are going to have to be ready for the battle. It’s a tough place to go and hopefully we match them and can show our quality which is tough. I said at the start of the season to the boys, it’ll never be easy, it’s never going to be easy, but hopefully we can get there sooner rather than later.”
