Monk appointed Swansea boss

Swansea - Garry Monk has been appointed permanent manager of Swansea City on a three-year contract following a successful spell as interim boss, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.

Monk, who made 260 appearances for the club as a player, replaced former head coach Michael Laudrup who was sacked in February with the Welsh club hovering above the relegation zone.

But the 35-year-old Monk steadied the ship at the Liberty Stadium, winning four, drawing three and losing six of his 13 league games in charge, guiding the club to safety with two games remaining.

"As a Board of Directors we carefully considered our next step because it was a very important decision for our football club," Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins said on the club's website (www.swanseacity.net).

"But having gone through that process, we unanimously agreed that the timing was right for Garry to be offered the job on a permanent basis.

"As we look forward to our fourth season in the Premier League, we all agreed that we needed to get back to basics and reinforce the principles that have brought us success in recent years.

"Garry represents all the strong values we hold so dearly as a football club and everyone is looking forward to working with him."

Swansea, in 13th place with 39 points, travel to rejuvenated Sunderland in their final match of the season on Sunday.