Swansea City manager Garry Monk has admitted that his side are struggling to reproduce the form that saw the club sit near the top of the table during the opening weeks of the season.

The Swans began the season with a draw at Chelsea and a 2-1 victory against Manchester United, but since the middle of September, Monk's side have failed to record a win in six games in all competitions.

The Welsh outfit travel to Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon just four points above the drop zone, but Monk has revealed that he sees the fixture as an "opportunity to put things right".

The 36-year-old is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "We are in a difficult moment. We're not playing at the performance levels we have previously but it's my job as manager and the players' responsibility to come through it.

"No-one puts more pressure on me than myself and I make the players look at this as an opportunity to put things right and get back to the levels we've already shown we're capable of earlier this season."

Swansea's recent form has resulted in Monk being linked with an exit from the Liberty Stadium.