Monk: We Lacked Intensity & Sharpness

Swansea City manager Garry Monk has given a fair assessment of his side’s poor display in the 2-0 defeat at West Brom.

As Monk explained after the defeat at the Hawthorns, his side lacked intensity, sharpness and pace as they really struggled to get through a resolute home side who struck twice in the second half to take all three points.

It was a poor all-round performance from the Swans but not one that lacked possession. But having 60%-plus possession mattered for nothing when they could barely threaten the defence and goalkeeper.

After a goalless and rather uneventful first half, both teams needed to step up in the second if they wanted to go on and win, West Brom did, but Swansea were lacking.

Shelvey playing behind Gomis was ineffective and he was often playing the wrong passes that didn’t match the run of his team-mate.

Another big problem was in midfield. Ki & Cork helped us to get that 60%-plus possession, but their habit of pushing up left big gaps in behind them that allowed the Baggies to attack into space.

Monk said that his side paid the price for lacking the intensity that’s required:

“We didn`t play with any tempo, which is what we need in our game,”

“It`s disappointing. We didn`t have the intensity, our passing wasn`t sharp enough. Overall, the team wasn`t good enough tonight. We didn`t perform at all.

“Without that intensity and sharpness, we couldn`t create anything. We needed to come here and move the ball around quickly, but we missed too many passes and took too many touches.

‘We looked bright in the week, we knew we`d have possession, but we were making silly mistakes which invited pressure. You can`t do that at this level.

“We paid the price for it. They deserved the win and we didn`t deserve anything. You can`t turn up to a Premier League game and give the ball away like we did.

“We had the chance to get at them tonight but did didn’t take it, which was frustrating. They were patient, and because we weren`t threatening, they probably grew in confidence and got the two goals.”

“We have a period to work on things, to make sure we perform 100 per cent better against Manchester United in over a week`s time. We can`t play the way we did tonight against them.”