What to expect from Swansea this season?

Garry Monk has had a strong start to his managerial career

Swansea City and their manager Garry Monk have been one of the pleasant surprises of the Premier League season so far, but what should we expect from them as the season progresses?

Swansea have gone through a topsy-turvy opening seven games, yet still ride high in fifth place in the Premier League table.

The fans have gone from elation to despair in the opening weeks, so what should the Liberty Stadium faithful expect from Swansea this season?

The Swans started the campaign firing on all cylinders, starting with a shock victory at Old Trafford to condemn Louis van Gaal to defeat in his first competitive game as Manchester United manager. Garry Monk's side followed that up with wins over Burnley and West Brom to briefly put themselves top of the Premier League table at the end of August.

Since that three-goal defeat of West Brom, things have tailed off for the Swans. Consecutive losses to Chelsea and Southampton were followed by disappointing draws against the north-east duo of Sunderland and Newcastle. Swansea might still sit fifth in the table and be in the position to look downwards at the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool, but they are now without a win in four games and have won only two points out of a possible 12.

These are worrying times for the club as, already in the opening weeks, Swansea fans have seen both sides of their team. From such a promising start things have slipped dramatically and, while they have not nose-dived into the doldrums, the Swans need to find some sort of consistency to avoid a drop down the Premier League table.

This Swansea team are very much going through a transitional period under Monk. The inexperienced manager was initially a surprise choice to replace Michael Laudrup, but there is no doubt he is Swansea through-and-through and would run through a brick wall for the club. He had something of a clear-out during the summer, getting rid of relics from the Laudrup era such as Chico Flores, Pablo Hernandez and Jose Canas. However, it was more of a surprise to see Michu - who scored 22 goals during his debut season - leave for Napoli on loan and the reliable goalkeeper Michel Vorm head to Spurs to warm the bench behind Hugo Lloris.

One great piece of incoming business by Monk was to get Gylfi Sigurdsson as part of the deal which saw defender Ben Davies leave Swansea for Spurs. The midfielder has been the creative spark in Swansea's midfield in the early weeks and looks a fantastic acquisition. In addition, Ki Sung-Yueng has been a rock in the centre of the park after his one-year hiatus at Sunderland, while Jonjo Shelvey has stepped up and his performances have earned him an England call-up.

As important as the return of Sigurdsson, keeping star striker Wilfried Bony at the Liberty Stadium was also an essential piece of business. The likes of Liverpool and Spurs sniffed around the Ivorian striker, but Bony is an integral piece of the Swansea jigsaw and would be sorely missed if he was to leave. Bony is strong, quick and a powerful spearhead to a Swansea side packed with an abundance of pace. Indeed, their success in the early weeks was built on blistering performances from Sigurdsson and the wide men, Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer.

Unfortunately, during the recent run without a victory, the goals have dried up. After blanks against Southampton and Sunderland, Swansea did get two against Newcastle, but were ultimately pegged back. The Swans should never have drawn that game as they dominated the play and wasted several good chances. It was merely rare lapses of concentration at the back that cost Monk's side - Swansea should have been out of sight.

Once Swansea re-discover their shooting boots the points should start to roll in again. Monk has them playing neat and attractive fast-paced football that is capable of causing problems for any rival side. With Sigurdsson pulling the strings for the likes of Bony, Dyer and Routledge to get chances in the box, Swansea definitely have the fire-power to get back to winning ways. They look too good to drop all the way down to a relegation battle and should find their feet in the mid-table mix-up for most of this season.