Fulton: All The Players Are Fully Behind Monk

Jay Fulton is another big admirer of Swansea City’s new manager Garry Monk, and the young Scotsman is keen to repay him for giving him his chance at Premier League level.

The 20 year-old arrived in January from Falkirk, and was initially placed in Kristian O’Leary’s under-21 squad, so we were all a bit surprised to see him named amongst the substitutes for the last few games in the 2013/14 Premier League season.

He came on for the final ten minutes or so in the last home game against Southampton, before making his full debut away at Sunderland a week later.

It was an impressive 73 minutes from the youngster. Considering his complete lack of experience at a competitive level, it was obvious from the first few minutes that he looked like he’d be one to watch out for in the (near) future.

Hardly shy from putting in a tackle or four, Fulton sat in a deep midfield role, making hard but fair tackles, winning possession which allowed for Shelvey to have the freedom to move forward.

Talking about Monk, Fulton told the Evening Post:

‘I’ll always be grateful to him (Monk) because he gave me my chance. I haven’t got a bad word to say about him,’

‘All the lads are behind him, giving 100 per cent for him every day in training and you can see that reflected in the performances.

‘Hopefully come next season we can all kick on for him.

‘It will be great if I can keep involved but now it’s up to me to repay his faith and show I’m good enough to stay involved.’

Fulton certainly looks like the sort of midfield player that Monk is looking for – one that won’t shy out of a tackle – which is something Jonathan de Guzman does far too often. So much so, that Monk has already said that he needs to improve the defensive side to his game if he was to return for a third successive season at the Liberty Stadium.

‘I managed to win the ball back and it started the build-up from which Marvin scored,’

‘Up in Scotland I don’t know if tackling was what I was known for. It’s been something I’ve looked to add to my game.

‘I knew I had to step up, win my individual battles and show I’m ready. I have to stand up to more tackles and it’s part of the game at this level.

‘I was delighted to get the start and to win on top of that was a great full debut and a great day for me.

‘I knew earlier in the week I’d be playing; the manager spoke to me and said I’d get my chance so it was good to know. I was a little bit nervous but you have to channel it in the right way and make the most of it.

‘It’s a positive if people think I slotted in okay. You just have to win your one v ones and individual battles and be confident in your position.’