With your side second in the Premier League it is little wonder that as a manager you would be a happy man but Garry Monk was full of praise for his team today not just for the fact that they won but the fact that they dug in - particularly in the second half - to secure that win.

Monk watched his side take the lead halfway through the first half thanks to Nathan Dyer but we failed to build on our superiority at that point and in the second half were forced to defend strongly against a Burnley side looking for their first point since their return to the Premier League.

Monk says the Swans were aware of what was coming in the second half and he said that his team were 'magnificent' in the way that they held Burnley out and secured the three points to follow up our famous win at Old Trafford last week.

“It was a very hard fought three points,” admitted the Swans boss. “We talked at half-time about how Burnley would come and throw everything at us.

“In the first half, I felt we pretty much controlled the game and should have got a second.

“But when we weren’t at our fluid best in the second period, we showed a different side to us and dug in.

“There are times when you have to dig in, and I felt the boys were magnificent in that respect."

Burnley had more attempts at goal than the Swans but just one on target during the game which was kept out by the Swans and a good defensive performance for the second week running was vital in securing the three points. It is ironic that our defence has looked so strong in the last two weeks considering the criticism aimed at it particularly after the defeat to Villarreal and with Federico Fernandez to be added to that it can surely only get stronger?

“We defended very, very well and limited them to one shot on target the whole game.

“A lot of that was down to the work we have done in pre-season, which was nice to see.

“It would’ve been nice to control the game better in the second half but, all in all, we did well.”

The Swans attention now turns to the midweek league cup clash with Rotherham on Tuesday where they will look to add cup progression to their excellent league form.

Photo: Action Images

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