Sheffield Wednesday: Garry Monk plays down Middlesbrough reunion

Monk landed the Boro gig in June 2017 and was tasked with leading the side back to the Premier League following relegation the previous season. He spent around £50m in the summer transfer market, including a club record £15million on Nottingham Forest striker Britt Assombalonga.

But Monk only lasted six months in the role after struggling to alter Middlesbrough's brand of football from the conservative approach of Aitor Karanka to a more expansive, attacking style of play. He was sacked just hours after a 2-1 win at Wednesday just before Christmas. Carlos Carvalhal, the then Owls boss, lost his job on Christmas Eve.

As for Monk, he left the Teeside club in ninth position after winning 10 of his 23 league matches in charge.

"You learn from every single experience," stressed Monk. "At that point, it was a shock to be in that situation.

"We had won six games in 10 at that point and we had just gone to Sheffield Wednesday and put in one of our best away performances in.

"But it is what you have to deal with as a manager. Those decisions are out of your hands. You can't control any of that and when it happens you have to accept it whether you agree with it or not, evaluate it and move on and that's what I did.

"I took it into my next job. All those things are motivation to keep pushing.

"I have always kept my belief. I am my own worst critic.

"The most important thing is you know what you want and how to get there and you keep pushing for it with that belief and that is what I have always tried to do.

"You take experience with what it is and move on from it."

Much of the focus ahead of this weekend's tussle will centre on Monk's return to the Riverside.

Asked what sort of reception he expects to get, Monk told The Star: "It does not matter. It is not my focus.

"My job is to get the players and the club prepared for what we believe is going to be a really tough game. All that matters is we put our strengths on the pitch."

Although things did not possibly go the way he would have liked at Boro, Monk is adamant that experience has benefited him in his managerial journey.

"I have been learning from the whole five and a bit years I have been doing it," said the former Swansea City, Leeds United and Birmingham City boss. "I have had a variety of different experiences. I have taken that all on board and never lost any belief.

"I feel I am probably the best I have ever been as a manager in understanding what I need to do and how I deliver it. Hopefully I will feel that each year. If I ever get to a year where I feel I have not improved, then I am not doing it right.

"I definitely feel as a manager all those experiences have helped me to understand what I need to do and how to do it from this day onwards."

Having worked closely with a big proportion of the Boro team, does Monk feel that inside knowledge could help his new team?

He said: "There have been a couple of managers since me there and they have played in different ways.

"I know their players of course and I know their strengths and weaknesses as an individual but they have been playing in different systems and way (since I left).

"Of course, knowing them helps from an individual point of view but from a team point of view it is not much benefit.

"We are preparing for what we think Middlesbrough will do and what their strengths are but also to try and put our strengths on the pitch so that we are stronger than them."

It promises to be tough-looking assignment for Wednesday, but Monk is confident they can pick up a positive result.

Monk said: "Ninety per cent of what I do is on what we need to do well and our own principles. That is what I have done since I have come in and that is what we will focus on this week.

"Of course, we will understand what Middlesbrough's strengths are and we are preparing for a really difficult, tough afternoon but we have got the quality to hurt them.”