“THOUGH he is often seen sporting a gillet on the touchline, this current Swansea side look ‘armless under his guidance’,” said Michelle Jones in the Star before the start of the season.

She felt that Swansea were doomed with Gary Monk in charge and I agreed with her. With very little experience in the Premier League, it was widely believed that the Swans would spend most of the season in a relegation battle and be relegated without putting much of a fight.

But Monk and his side had other ideas. From the very first game of the season they proved they were not to be underestimated.

While the rest of the league were focused on Manchester United’s first game with Louis van Gaal in charge, Monk was focused on causing an upset.

I was in the press box for that match, expecting a comfortable United victory. What myself and the rest of the journalists at Old Trafford witnessed, however, was a comfortable Swansea win.

Even when Wayne Rooney levelled, the Swans remained on top and ran out 2-1 winners. It was a sign of things to come.

Three wins on the trot was followed by five games without a win but the team didn’t stop playing an attractive brand of football.

The Swans were rarely outplayed and often lost matches by the odd goal.

Wilfried Bony and Gylfi Sigurdsson were proving to be the stand out players of the side. Their partnership was devastating and it was only a matter of time before one of the bigger clubs came knocking.

It was Bony who was picked off by Manchester City in January and, again, it was considered to be the moment that would signal the end for Swansea.

But Bafatemi Gomis, who was signed for free from Lyon in the summer, took over the mantle from Bony and the team kept on going.

A 5-0 defeat to Chelsea was the worst performance of the season and Monk let his players know that matches like that would not be tolerated.

The team responded a few weeks later by beating United again, completing the double over them for the first time in their history.

A 1-0 away victory over Arsenal in May completed their first double over the Gunners since the 1982 season.

Relegation candidates? Swansea finished the season in eighth, their highest ever position in the league.

It was fully deserved and Monk was arguably manager of the season.

Playing in all white, at times the team could have been mistaken for Real Madrid.

Jonjo Shelvey, Jack Cork and Ki Sung Yeung looked more like Xabi Alonso, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.

Many supporters enjoyed watching the Swans and they soon became the second team of quite a few fans.

This was in no small park to the management of Monk.

The Englishman has shown in his first full season that he has a bright future in the game. The way he handled the sale of Bony and managed the team, you wouldn’t think he was just 36 years old.

His excellent season led to West Ham looking at bringing him to the Boleyn Ground but instead the former Swansea player is set to be handed a new contract at the Liberty Stadium.

“Those negotiations are well underway now,” he said a month ago. “Hopefully myself and the chairman can get it sorted sooner rather than later.”

They will want to secure his long-term future at the club. It won’t be long before some of the top six teams are looking at one of the more promising English managers in the game.

Although the way Swansea are going, he could well have them fighting for a top four place in the near future.