Swansea City manager Garry Monk praises Mark Hughes for Stoke style change

Swansea City manager Garry Monk has praised Mark Hughes for changing the style of play employed at Stoke City.

Monk believes that one of the toughest tasks a manager can encounter is having to make a drastic change to the style of football played by a club.

Stoke's physical, combative style which was a hallmark of the Tony Pulis era has been replaced by a more expansive attacking game, backed by the signing of players such as Bojan Krkic, Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri.

"That change is probably the hardest thing you can do in management," Monk told reporters ahead of Swansea's clash with the Potters on Monday night.

"It takes a lot of work, detail and willingness from yourself, the staff and the players. You also need trust from above and the chairman, board and directors buying into what you're doing and giving you the licence to recruit the players you want.

"You need all that to change vision and it takes time, but they've done that exceptionally well at Stoke."

Only two places and one point separate 13th-placed Swansea and 15th-placed Stoke in the Premier League table ahead of Monday night's fixture.