Monk: Swansea will benefit from relegation scrap

Swansea City head coach Garry Monk feels the experience of a Premier League relegation battle will ultimately prove beneficial to his squad.

The Welsh club have secured victories over Newcastle United and Aston Villa in the last two weeks, and that six-point return has guaranteed their position in the top tier for at least another season.

A poor run of form led to Monk replacing Michael Laudrup at the Liberty Stadium in February, yet Swansea still flirted with relegation until their late revival.

But rather than be concerned by the scrap to avoid the drop, Monk believes the team will improve so long as they heed the lessons of a testing campaign.

“It’s something we’ve not experienced for 10 years and it’s important we all learn from it and I think we have,” Monk is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

“It’s been a test but I’ve always said that if you stick together then nine times out of 10 you’ll get yourself out of these situations.

“But it’s important that we learn from it – the players have learned from it without a doubt.

“They’ve never experienced relegation and the troubles and the pressures that come along with it – it’s a totally different sort of pressure to where we have been in recent years.

“It will stand them in good stead – and the club too.”