Birmingham reply: "We tried to find comments from our 'Interim Caretaker Head Coach' speaking without class about tomorrow's game. We couldn't"
Tuesday 26 November 2019 17:17, UK
Garry Monk has launched a brutal character assessment of his old assistant Pep Clotet, provoking a war of words with former club Birmingham.
The Sheffield Wednesday manager was Clotet's boss at Swansea, Leeds and at St Andrews, where the Spaniard has since succeeded him as head coach.
Ahead of the pair's first clash in opposition dugouts when the Blues visit Hillsborough live on Sky Sports on Wednesday, Monk admitted he made an "error" in not heeding other people's warnings about Clotet.
And Birmingham hit back on Twitter, accusing their former manager of lacking class while posting footage of Monk issuing the following critique.
"In terms of the - I don't know what it is; is it interim, caretaker head coach? - I don't speak with him," Monk said.
"I think what's most important to me when I'm assembling a staff around me is to give them opportunity. You show them complete trust and you hope they repay that trust with hard work and loyalty.
"Sadly not everyone has those values in their character. Some choose to pursue their own opportunities in the worst possible way.
"I think the most important thing for me is you live and you learn. I didn't listen to a lot of people in football circles who warned me about the type of character he is.
"It was an error in judgment by me, but it's an error I won't make in the future."
Monk's dismissal from Birmingham came after a row with the board over transfer policy, with the club having just emerged from an EFL transfer embargo and avoided relegation following a nine-point deduction.
Clotet was immediately put in charge despite most of Monk's backroom staff leaving St Andrew's, with James Beattie also remaining a first-team coach, although he has not been seen in Clotet's dugout in recent months.
Clotet avoided a confrontation when asked about his relationship with Monk on Tuesday, insisting "as far as I am concerned, there is no issue between the two of us.
"Of course, it's football, it's three points, that's the only thing that is in contention," he said.
Monk took over Birmingham in March 2018 with the club in 22nd position and facing relegation to League One, but won five of his first 10 matches in charge to steer the club away from trouble.
Despite the points deduction in his first full season in charge, Birmingham still finished 12 points clear of the relegation zone before he was sacked.
"I have nothing but good memories," Monk told Sky Sports News. "When you consider I walked into a club in a deep relegation battle and everyone felt it was doom and gloom - there was a reality we were going down to League One.
"It could have been a totally different story for the club. Even through the difficult moments the players and the fanbase gave me so much. It was a joy to be at that club."
