A new season brings renewed optimism and after listening to Garry Monk’s pre-Norwich press conference, there’s plenty of hope.

The Blues manager sounds like a man on a personal mission and his plea to ‘lead the club through adversity’ hits all the right notes.

The improvement in a broken team at the back end of last season was in stark contrast to what had gone before it.

Monk has a similar hand at his disposal this time around and will be looking for more of the same during the 2018/19 campaign.

The fact he hasn’t set a specific target as to where Blues should sit in the table come May is understandable and in many ways a sensible  approach.

He knows the situation internally better than we do looking from the outside. But Monk oozes confidence in his own ability and underneath the calm and collected persona is a driven, ambitious young manager.

With the transfer embargo dominating much of the summer preparation, Monk’s future could have been touch and go in itself. Yet here he sits as the Blues manager ahead of what is sure to be another rollercoaster season.

Admittedly, the summer could have been smoother with the integration of new players. But the situation is what it is. Rather than licking his wounds and feeling sorry for himself, Monk has dusted himself off and dealt with it.

That attitude is infectious and soaks right through to the core of the team.

That is why retaining Monk at the helm is better than any realistic signing the club could attract.

Frankly, while Monk is there, progress will closely follow.

Rob Wildey

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