David Prutton has hailed Leeds United manager Garry Monk.
Leeds United manager Garry Monk
Pundit David Prutton has told Sky Sports’ EFL Weekly podcast that he thinks Garry Monk’s work at Leeds United this season has been ‘truly phenomenal’.
Leeds beat Bristol City 2-1 at Elland Road on Tuesday evening to bounce back from two successive defeats at the hands of Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City.
After a couple of disappointing results, it was important for Leeds to hit back with a victory, and they will be looking to make it two wins in a row as they take on Ipswich Town this afternoon.
Leeds remain comfortably inside the play-off places, six points clear of seventh-placed Norwich City, but eight points off the automatic promotion places, with the recent defeats potentially costing Garry Monk’s shot at a top-two finish.
Monk, 37, has impressed in the Elland Road dugout since his arrival over the summer, as he has turned Leeds from a mid-table Championship side to legitimate contenders for promotion back to the Premier League.
Tuesday’s win over Bristol City was Monk’s 39th in charge of Leeds, making him the longest-serving manager of Massimo Cellino’s reign at Elland Road, with the Whites seemingly having finally found a manager for the long term.
Ahead of this afternoon’s clash with Ipswich, former Leeds midfielder and current pundit David Prutton has suggested that Cellino’s controversial legacy at Elland Road could be altered completely by Monk achieving promotion this season, and is happy to see Monk given time to impress after swift exits for former managers.
David Prutton during his time at Leeds United
Prutton, speaking to Sky Sports’ EFL Weekly, added that he thinks Monk’s work has been truly phenomenal, and highlighted his great signings such as Pablo Hernandez, Kemar Roofe, Pontus Jansson and Kyle Bartley.
“I think that, if the legacy is Garry Monk and them getting promoted, then the controversy will be well and truly swept under the carpet,” said Prutton. “We all knew what Garry could do, we all knew that from when he was at Swansea, we all knew that he would be a good fit for Leeds, the only thing we didn’t know was whether he’d have the time. It has been a credit to him for the patience that he’s shown as a manager with the players he has got, what he has got out of his players and his recruitment.”
“What he has got out of the likes of Chris Wood, Pablo Hernandez, Kemar Roofe, Pontus Jansson and Kyle Bartley is truly phenomenal. Like Huddersfield, they’re a real feel-good success story of the season, but ultimately, if they’re not in the play-offs come the end of the season, then it will be one of those missed opportunities that they’ll look back on and be kicking themselves,” he added.
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