Garry Monk will this week see his side's pre-season step up a notch as they begin the fixture list that they hope will set them up perfectly for the opening day fixture at Chelsea.

The Swans arrived in Germany yesterday ahead of the two games this week. They take on take on Champions League qualifiers Borussia Monchengladbach in Grassau on Wednesday before facing German second-tier team 1860 Munich at the Grunwalder Stadion on Saturday.

Last season's record breaking finish is still in the minds of many as the plans for the new season are pulled together and whilst there have been rumblings that standing still could class as progress, Monk knows that he wants his players to go to the next level which is some challenge given the 56 points we accumulated last season.

An eighth placed finish was the final league position for the season and anything higher last season would have meant Europa League football once again for the side so we know what the prizes are if we can push on from where we were last season.

Monk said on arrival in Grassau “Each stage of pre-season has been planned meticulously to get the players to certain levels am the players have been brilliant for two weeks. I have been really happy with them up to this point, the majority have come back in really good condition and they are all where they should be right now.

“But now the football side of it starts to get more intense. The games start to come so the players get that match fitness.

“It has gone well so far — touch wood we have been injury free which is a massive thing — but here we start to ramp up the intensity on the football side of things.”

It has been a busy summer so far for the Swans in the transfer market with four captures - defender Franck Tabanou, Portugal striker Eder, Swedish international goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt and the much sough after Andre Ayew but all the deals were done early which has helped no end in allowing Monk to settle his squad for the new season.

“They have been brilliant and fitted in well and it’s what we want because my aim is to push us forward." Monk added

“That has been the case all along. I think it was clear last year how I wanted the players to take us forward and now we will try to do the same again, even though it’s going to be extremely difficult to better what we did in terms of points and records. But in football terms we want to push on again and improve again."

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