Friday 23 October 2015 11:19, UK
Swansea manager Garry Monk has backed Tim Sherwood to turn around Aston Villa's fortunes this season.
Sherwood has come under pressure with Villa failing to register a league win since the opening day of the season and his side lying just one point above bottom club Sunderland in the table.
Monk himself been linked with the Villa Park post but feels the speculation has been unhelpful to him, and Sherwood, and says the former Spurs boss should be given time after only eight months in the job.
Speaking ahead of the weekend meeting between the sides, Monk, who guided Swansea to an eighth-place finish in the league last season, said: "These links don't help managers. Tim is doing an excellent job and working as hard as I would be.
"You have to let managers get on with their jobs and concentrate and people should be supportive of them as people are with me and my staff."
Monk himself has had to contend with speculation about his future at the Liberty Stadium, following a run of six games without a win.
But the 36-year-old believes managers are under extra pressure to succeed this year, with the Premier League's record television deal due to begin at the start of next season.
"It's the nature of the league this year," Monk said. "What is happening to Tim is because of pressure put on clubs to be in this league next year. But pressure is how you perceive it. I don't perceive it as a negative, I see it as an opportunity to make the most of it.
"No one puts more pressure on myself than myself and I make the players look at this as an opportunity to put things right and get back to the levels we've already shown we're capable of earlier this season.
"We had a similar period last season around the time we played Chelsea at home. It was a five-game period when we were indifferent in our performance but we relied on our unity and brought ourselves together.
"We know the quality we have in the squad and that's the only thing myself and the players will be focusing on."
