Time can change fast and Garry Monk is in danger of being an outcast at Swansea City

At the end of August, just before the first international break of the season, Swansea City appeared to be flying high.

A 2-1 victory against Manchester United left them in the top four, early in the Premier League race, and the reputation of manager Garry Monk was such that his name was beginning to crop up in media reports about his being a leading contender to be the next England coach.

However, Swansea’s form has dipped since then, with just one victory in eight matches seeing the Welsh outfit slide to 14th place, only five points above the bottom three as the league enjoys more downtime due to the third international break of the season.

Far from being his country’s next coach, talk has now turned to the fact that Monk, 36, could soon be out of a job.

The rumours have subsided in recent days, and it looks as though he will remain in charge for at least a little while longer.

The fact that the reports surfaced in the first place, though, is indicative of how short-termist football in the Premier League has become.

Monk took charge at the Liberty Stadium in February 2014 after Michael Laudrup had been dismissed with Swansea looking nervously over their shoulders at the relegation zone.

It took a few weeks for results to pick up, but the club did enough to pull clear of danger and into mid-table.

Monk did an even better job in 2014/15, his first full campaign as a manager. Swansea secured their record Premier League points tally of 56 points and second-highest top-flight finish, eighth, all while retaining their identity as one of the division’s most attractive teams to watch.

Since those encouraging opening weeks of the season, however, it has been disappointing fare this time around, with Swansea’s lone league win since August coming at bottom-placed Aston Villa, and they had to come from behind to achieve that.

But, more than two-thirds of the season remains, more than enough time for Swansea to record what would be only their third top-half placing in the highest tier since 1982.

It may be too early to discuss Monk as a potential successor to Roy Hodgson as England coach, but it would also be incredibly premature of Swansea to dismiss him.

sports@thenational.ae