Swansea City manager Garry Monk has predicted that the upcoming Premier League season will be the "hardest" campaign in its 23-year history.
The 36-year-old coach believes that the extra money coming into top-flight clubs from the new multi-million pound TV deal will make matches more competitive.
"I do believe this will be the hardest season the Premier League has ever seen because of the TV money that comes in next year," the South Wales Evening Post quotes Monk as saying.
"Every club will be wanting to get a piece of that action, and I think you will see it with the intensity of every single game and the pressure of every game. It will be upped to a higher level than ever before I believe."
The Welsh outfit will face Reading, Nottingham Forest and La Liga side Deportivo La Coruna in their pre-season schedule, before playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the season on August 8.
Danielle Joynson
