Brendan Rodgers tipped to make Swansea return

Swansea have begun their search for a new manager after “very reluctantly” parting company with Garry Monk yesterday.

Former Swans boss Brendan Rodgers has been installed as favourite for the job, three and a half years after he left the Liberty Stadium to join Liverpool.

Chairman Huw Jenkins made the decision to bring to an end Monk’s 11-year stay at the Welsh club after a run of one win in 13 matches — Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat by Leicester left them just one point above the Barclays Premier League relegation zone.

Jenkins told the club website: “The decision has been made very reluctantly and with a heavy heart.

“To find ourselves in our current situation from where we were in the first week of September, and considering the drop of performance levels and run of results over the last three months, it has brought us to this unfortunate decision today.

“Garry took on the job 22 months ago with the backing of everyone at the club.

“And when you take into account the excellent campaign we had last season when we broke all club records in the Premier League, nobody foresaw the position we would be in at this moment in time.

“Bearing that in mind, and the current uncertainty around the club, we felt the situation needed clarity to move forward.

“It was not a decision we took lightly, especially given Garry’s history and standing within the club.”

The Swansea City Supporters’ Trust, which owns 21% of the club, announced backing for the decision to part company with Monk.

The Trust expressed disappointment that things had not worked out this season for Monk.

However they understood the board’s concern at current results and the need to turn things around sooner, rather than later.

Trust chairman Phil Sumbler said: “Garry Monk has been a great servant to Swansea City, and his success last year as a young manager in the Premier League fully justified the decision to appoint him on a temporary basis in February 2014, and subsequently on a permanent basis.

“Garry has acknowledged that recent results have not been acceptable, and ultimately the club board has to take tough decisions in the longer-term interests of Swansea City,” he said.