The Swans went into this season on the back of a record breaking season last time around that saw us finish 8th in the Premier League with a huge tally of 56 points giving us a target to beat this time around.

All the talk pre-season was very much around the fact that standing still could be classed as progress and Garry Monk has talked much about how competitive he believes the league will be this year as there are extra riches on reward next season for the sides that remain in the Premier League.

The Swans have made a brilliant start though to the push to try and beat last season's total and effectively are three points up on the comparable results of last season with optimism in this corner of South West Wales probably at the highest level that it has ever been.

There is a definite belief that if we can keep our squad fit that we can push on for a European place in the league which would be a fantastic achievement at any point in time let alone on the back of something so special last time around.

Monk's stock as a football manager is rising all the time and if he gets anywhere near last season's tally then we can expect other Chairman to come sniffing at some point but these are special times at Swansea and we have to hope that Monk stays to finish the job that he has started so spectacularly. Whatever finishing it of course looks like.

But there is no worry about that at the moment as Monk answered questions on whether the Swans could top last season's performance "That is the aim and that is what we will fight for, but I really think it will be more difficult because the league will be more competitive," he said.

"Look at the money that has been spent by teams in and round us. We have not spent anywhere near as much as Newcastle.

"There is a lot at stake with the money available for being in the league next season, but we will be pushing to try to do as well as we can."

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