The Birmingham fans have been really fantastic ...sometimes you walk into a club & feel that deepconnection straight away. It’s quite weird SAYS GARRY MONK

GARRY MONK goes headto-head with Frank Lampard today and though a year younger than his rookie Derby counterpart, is already on to his fourth club.

Each brought its own unique challenge, but Birmingham might just be the toughest – and most rewarding – yet.

He has saved them from relegation, battled a transfer embargo and is operating under the threat of a points deduction for breaking spending rules.

Yet far from wallowing in the crisis, Monk has somehow managed to galvanise the players, supporters and club and lead them on an impressive run which could see City leapfrog Derby into the play-off zone this weekend.

St Andrew’s is buzzing again with a real sense of defiance following last year’s great escape and after four straight wins despite the cloud hanging over the club (above, Che Adams battling with Tom Lees of Sheffield Wednesday during last Saturday’s 3-1 victory).

Former Swansea, Leeds and Middlesbrough boss Monk said: “Sometimes you just walk in to a club and feel a connection straight away. It’s weird.

‘‘But it’s just a feeling you have straight away. We got it straight away.

“I think we’ve carried it over from last season, facing relegation, 11 games to go and a big part of that has been the connection with the fans. You need the fans with you and if you’re going to suffer then you need to suffer together.

“But the fans have been fantastic. We looked at how we can improve things with them.

“Number one will always be results but another thing was the atmosphere and, for understandable reasons, it wasn’t there. We ended up getting it right and it’s been great.

“Me and the staff lived in the city centre for those 11 games and after training we’d go out for coffee and whatever, see so many Blue Noses and then they would tweet it. Word gets round and they can see you’re genuine and it created something really quickly. I think we’ve harnessed it even more this season. It’s just a feeling. But those 11 games definitely made the group stronger. It gave us a siege mentality, we came out fighting and those principles are still remaining even now.”

Monk was touted as a potential England boss after leading Swansea to eighth in the Premier League but, despite 10 years at the club as a player, was ruthlessly sacked.

His spells at Leeds and Boro were short, but each provided a sharp learning curve and Monk is a manager who has taken valuable soundings throughout his career, starting with his biggest influence, Brendan Rodgers, and Unai Emery more recently.

He said: “In terms of opening my eyes to it, Brendan helped me so much. I was really privileged and he’s been the biggest influence in my career.

“We always text each other, he always helps me and it’s not just about football because we’re also really good friends.

“I didn’t want people to tell me how to do the job otherwise I’d never learn. But it’s about best practice, structures within clubs, the psychology of sport, seeing how individual sports work and really try to improve myself by taking things from different people.

“Unai was really good for me. Javi Garcia was my goalkeeper coach at Swansea and he went back to Seville with Unai and made the introduction. He was excellent. I watched some sessions, looked at tactics, how they prepare and how they train, those type of things.

“I’d love to have the easiest job in the world, everything runs smoothly but I’ve never been afraid of a challenge. But that’s me. I was that as a player.

“Every year at Swansea, we’d get promoted and I’d be told, ‘Thank you, but you’re not ready.’ I ended up playing in the Premier League.

“The best thing about it is I’ve gained so much experience in such a short space of time and sat here today I feel 100 times a better manager than I was at Swansea in terms of running a team, coaching – and yet I’m not in the Premier League.

“But I’m still hungry for that, getting back into the Premier League.

“I want to get back there whichever way it comes.”