"I want myself to do better": Garry Monk reflects on life at Sheffield Wednesday ahead of Huddersfield Town clash

It’s been 303 days since Garry Monk first took his seat in a Sheffield Wednesday dugout ahead of a 2-0 win at Huddersfield Town.
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A whole lot has changed at Hillsborough since then. Six of the players that made that first Monk squad have since left the club and Wednesday have been on a turbulent ride that saw them scale third place in the division at Christmas before hurtling deep into the bottom half.

The coronavirus crisis meant that Monk had to wait a little longer than anticipated for a return leg against the relegation-threatened Terriers, which will take place at Hillsborough this evening.

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Asked for his summary of a wild ride since that first game, Monk gave The Star an honest appraisal of the job at hand: “I told you from the start, I came to this club because I could see the potential in it, I knew that it was going to be work and there’s still a lot of work to be done, but I’m determined to do it.

Garry Monk gave an honest assessment of his tenure at Sheffield Wednesday so far.Garry Monk gave an honest assessment of his tenure at Sheffield Wednesday so far.
Garry Monk gave an honest assessment of his tenure at Sheffield Wednesday so far.

“It’s not been easy, there have been ups and downs, but we want to do better. I want the club to do better, I want the players to do better, I want myself to do better.

“We want to finish the season as strongly as possible, we need to finish the next three games with that positivity as best as we can.”

Wednesday have been linked with a handful of Premier League youngsters in recent weeks as Monk attempts to instil a ‘younger, hungrier, more dynamic’ feel to an ageing squad.

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The Star understands that a deal has been done with Manchester City to bring 19-year-old Fisayo Dele-Bashiru to the club.

“You can see the transition is already starting, it will take time,” Monk said. “That’s not me saying it so I can get time.

“I understand my job is results-driven, but I know these type of things do take time and my determination to get that time means I have to get results but also help along that transition.

“If we can do that then we can definitely get to a better day and that’s what I want to do for the club.”

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