Saturday 2 May 2015 20:36, UK
Garry Monk feels Swansea are in the race for Europe after watching his team earn a convincing 2-0 win over 10-man Stoke at the Liberty Stadium.
Late goals from Jefferson Montero and Ki Sung-yueng almost guaranteed that Swansea will end the season in the top eight - their highest-ever finish in the Premier League.
Swansea are now only four points adrift of Southampton following their surprise defeat at Sunderland - and seventh place could be enough for Europa League qualification if Arsenal beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup final at the end of May.
"The carrot (of Europe) is there for us as we have got Arsenal away, Man City home and Crystal Palace away. They are tough games," Monk said.
"We are under no illusions how tough it will be, but if we perform like we did in the second half, in those games we will be a handful for anyone.
"It is feasible to get into Europe but we keep our feet firmly on the ground here.
"This game was about consolidating our place in the top 10 and we are in control of that eighth spot now.
"We have beaten our best points tally and you have to find new things to fight for."
Monk admitted he was not happy with his team’s efforts in the first half but praised the way they stepped up their intensity after the break.
“We stepped it up. I spoke to the boys at half time," Monk said.
"I felt we were always in control but we were probably playing at 60-70 per cent compared to what we have been here at home.
“So I had a few words to say to the boys at half-time and we came out in the second with a much better tempo. That was the key.
“Our intensity was upped and the speed of our passing was upped and that is why we got the result.”
“Jefferson [Montero] got a header which doesn’t happen every day so he is very pleased with that and we capped it off with a good second goal from Ki.
“It was a good all-around team performance, especially in that second half.”
