Garry Monk has said he will use the experience from his time at Leeds United to galvanise Birmingham City after becoming the Championship club’s fifth manager inside 12 months. Monk, who turns 39 on Tuesday, joked that he did not require armbands after being tasked with saving Birmingham from dropping into the third tier for the first time since 1994, four years into his managerial career.
After taking charge of his first training session, Monk, who has a three-and-a-half-year contract, was unveiled alongside Xuandong Ren, the chief executive officer, who politely declined to answer questions. Monk replaces Steve Cotterill, who was sacked on Saturday after defeat by Nottingham Forest. His first game will be at home on Tuesday against Middlesbrough, who relieved him of his duties in December, a meeting Monk described as “destiny”. The former Swansea City manager then returns to south Wales to face Cardiff City on Saturday.
“I’ve been in the deep end quite a few times,” he said. “I don’t need armbands right now. It will never be harder than when I first went into management – it doesn’t come much more in the deep end than that. I think I have gained a lot of experience, even though I am very early on in my managerial career.”
Monk resigned from Leeds last summer, having finished seventh, after failing to agree a new contract with the then new owner Andrea Radrizzani. He was appointed by Middlesbrough in June but sacked hours after victory against Sheffield Wednesday in late December. “It was a surprise at the time, especially given the internal talks we were having,” Monk said. “But that time is done, there is no bitterness from my side of things towards anything.
“I had a good experience at Leeds recently, with the same situation; taking a fractured club that is very disconnected across all the boards. We managed to pull it into a situation where everything was connected, the fans were right behind the team and there was a connection between the terraces and the team and the team and the terraces. I’ve seen at big clubs, when the terraces are connected with the club, it can be ferocious for away teams.”
Asked whether his season at Elland Road gave him the belief that he could turn around the fortunes of a club two points from safety after five successive defeats, Monk replied: “Yes. You have to believe in yourself, and from that experience as well. I am not naive and I understand the reality of it. But I truly believe that with the capabilities of that squad, with the work we can do, we can put them in a better place. Going forward, speaking to the owners, I can see the ambition in their eyes. I judge it on that, not other peoples’ opinions and I can see there is an ambition to make something good.”
Monk, who batted away a question about whether there was a break clause in his contract in the event of relegation, is finalising his backroom staff but is reunited with his former assistant Pep Clotet. The Spaniard was part of his coaching team at Swansea and Leeds but not Middlesbrough after taking charge at Oxford United, who sacked him in January.
“It is great to be back with Pep,” Monk said. “He brings a wealth of experience, he’s a very good coach and he will bring that to these players.”
