Swansea City boss Garry Monk has praised midfielder Jonjo Shelvey for upping his game after being criticised earlier on in the season for a lack of focus.

Shelvey was under pressure from Monk to deliver the performances he expects from the former Liverpool schemer and the Swans boss is pleased that his words appear to have had the desired effect.

City have won four and drawn one of their last seven Premier League games to move up to eighth place in the standings, with a trip to relegation-threatened Leicester City next on the agenda.

And Monk is confident that Shelvey will again be in the heart of the action at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, with City 3.40 to pick up all three points in the East Midlands.

He told the Welsh media: “Jonjo has gone up a level in his performances. The quality is there and I have said all season it’s about him maturing in all ways and football-wise.

“He’s shown that in the last two or three months. He has put in a great work ethic, which is the number one thing, then his quality comes through on top of that.”

Up to the start of November, Shelvey picked up six yellow cards and a red, but has since been booked on only a further two occasions.

His goal in the 1-1 draw with Everton last time out was only his third of the campaign, with his other strikes coming in a 1-0 win at Southampton at the beginning of February and a 4-2 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in mid-September.