Swansea sack manager Monk after sorry run of just one league win in 11 matches

Garry Monk has been sacked as Swansea City manager after 22 months in charge.

Sportsmail understands that sources close to Monk were told on Tuesday night that he would lead the team one final time against Manchester City on Saturday.

But chairman Huw Jenkins has moved to make a clean break, sacking his manager after 40 minutes of talks at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday. Those discussions followed conversations on Monday and Wednesday morning that left the 36-year-old in the dark over whether he had a future at the club he served for 11 years.

It is not yet known who will lead the side at the Etihad Stadium, with Monk’s assistants Pep Clotet and James Beattie on the brink of being dismissed. The uncertainty over who would manage the side temporarily is believed to be one reason for Jenkins’ delay in making his decision. Club stalwart Alan Curtis could take over in a caretaker capacity, while former manager Brendan Rodgers is top of the club’s wishlist for a permanent replacement.

Jenkins said: ‘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. And it goes without saying that we wish Garry all the very best for the future and thank him for his tremendous service, not only as a player over the last decade, but also as our manager. He will always have a warm welcome at this football club.

‘We hope to appoint a replacement as soon as possible.’

It is a sad end for Monk, who led Swansea to a record Premier League points total last season and was tipped for the manager of the year award. He was also touted as a future England manager.

But this season has been woefully short of his standards, with Swansea taking one win in their past 11 Premier League games.

Monk was privately supported by Jenkins throughout the slump, but has had to work with a difficult dressing room, with sources close to Monk complaining about the attitude and desire of certain players in the squad. There have also been differences of opinion regarding transfers, with Monk not entirely satisfied with his input into the process.

However, the relationship between Monk and Jenkins was never known to be unduly strained, with club sources keen to emphasis that this was purely a results-based decision.

Monk steered Swansea safe of relegation after taking over from Michael Laudrup in February 2014, before finishing eighth last season. They are currently one point above the bottom three.