Nottingham Forest v Leeds United: Changes always designed to improve Whites '“ Garry Monk

LEEDS United head coach Garry Monk has hinted it would be wrong to assume another 11 changes are forthcoming for today's Championship trip to Nottingham Forest.
Leeds United head coach Garry Monk takes charge of training ahead of his side facing Nottingham Forest.Leeds United head coach Garry Monk takes charge of training ahead of his side facing Nottingham Forest.
Leeds United head coach Garry Monk takes charge of training ahead of his side facing Nottingham Forest.

Monk changed his entire team for Tuesday night’s League Cup tie at Luton Town, which came three days on from his side’s impressive 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday.

But Monk insists his hand was forced into making widescale changes as the players he fielded from the start at Hillsborough had still not fully recovered.

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He says he did not make 11 changes with today’s trip to the City Ground in mind, stating: “It’s not the case of I rested them just because they are the ones that are going to play the (Forest) game, not at all.

“I think it was just the right thing to do because they didn’t recover from the game before sufficiently enough.

“I didn’t want to make that amount of changes, but I felt I had to. I’ll pick the team and the squad to travel down to Forest that I feel can win the game and that’s the way I’ll always do it.”

Reacting to suggestions that he was a head coach who liked to make frequent changes to his teams, Monk responded: “It’s how I assess what is needed.

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“When you assess the opposition and you focus on what their weaknesses and strengths are you try and identify what your team and what you are doing is capable of and who is best to fit that and go and win the game.

“I think that’s the way to do it.

“If that means no changes, great, if that means one change, great, if that means 10 changes or 11 changes then so be it.

“You have to take care of the squad and protect the squad and do what’s best and what you feel as a manager is best to win that game. That’s always the way.”

United are chasing their third win on the spin at Nottingham, but Monk insists his men remain a work in progress.

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He said: “I think there’s plenty more to come,. I don’t feel that we are the team that we want to be – I’ve said this many times.

“It’s a process and it can only be a process. I’ve not seen, I don’t think, one team in my life that have overnight become something from something else. It takes time at every club. I think we are building in a good way. That’s the most important bit and you will see them grow from that.

“We’ve got a long season, there’s a long way to go, a lot of improving to do, but if we continue the way that we are, we should be in a good place at periods coming throughout the season.