Wednesday 31 December 2014 00:14, UK
Swansea manager Garry Monk says he has no plans to sell midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, despite his recent public criticism of the former Charlton and Liverpool player.
Monk, speaking before his side's 4-1 defeat by Liverpool on Monday, said the 22-year-old needed to "wise up" and lose the "laziness" from his game if he was to make the most of his talent at Swansea.
Shelvey went on to have a nightmare against the Reds, scoring an own goal and losing Adam Lallana in the build-up to Liverpool's third of the game, before being charged with violent conduct on Tuesday for a clash with Emre Can.
But Monk said his comments should not be taken as a coded message of his intention to sell Shelvey in the upcoming transfer window.
"It is often the case (to sell) when a manager talks about a player," said Monk. "But that is absolutely not the case. It was not my intention to give the impression I do not want Jonjo here.
"When I talked about him I was talking about the specific instances where he can do better, in relation to the yellow cards he has picked up.
"When I talked about laziness I meant the situations he gets into to get bookings, not his overall performances.
"Yes, he can do better, but so can all our players. With Jonjo it is a case of me trying to help him, him trying to help himself and pushing on.
Performance-wise, he's capable of running a game, grabbing it by the scruff of the neck and really dictating it, but what you forget is that he's a really young player.
"He is going to get a lot better and I want that to happen here at Swansea, not anywhere else."
Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher highlighted how Shelvey, who has picked up seven bookings and a red card this season, was laughing with Lallana ahead of the corner from which he headed into his own net.
"I have not seen the Sky footage and I was not aware of that," added Monk.
"But you need to be focused in those situations, especially a dangerous situation like a set-piece.
"I was disappointed with that goal as it was avoidable but I thought Jonjo's performance was good.
"We analyse the players and get all the feedback from their performances and on the ball he was one of our highest passers in the game.
"I thought he put himself about, had good energy and he was possibly our best passer on the day. He was probably our most threatening midfielder on the ball but I know he can be even better.
"Performance-wise, he's capable of running a game, grabbing it by the scruff of the neck and really dictating it, but what you forget is that he's a really young player."
