Swansea boss Garry Monk was left frustrated and infuriated by defender Chico Flores' early dismissal in his team's 1-0 home defeat against Barclays Premier League title contenders Chelsea.

Monk cut an exasperated figure on the touchline after Flores received two yellow cards in little more than two minutes, meaning Swansea played over two thirds of the game with 10 men.

They were finally undone by Demba Ba's 68th-minute winner, which kept Chelsea two points behind league leaders Liverpool and Swansea still in relegation danger.

"If you go by the letter of the law it is a sending off, but if you do letter of the law every single game then you will get six or seven sendings off a game," Monk said.

"The disappointing thing was that he (referee Phil Dowd) looked like he signalled straight away 'no' - as if to signal it didn't warrant another yellow.

"Then their bench and manager surrounds the fourth official and their players surround the referee and then the red card comes later on.

"It makes you wonder, doesn't it?

"But I know Phil, and he is an honest guy. I don't think he responded to the pressure. If he says it was him giving himself time, then it is him giving himself time. But the circumstances make it strange.

"It's not great when people are asking for the ref to dish out a red card, but what can you do. It happens, and you trust that the ref was strong enough to deal with all that."

Assessing Flores' two cautions, Monk added: "We have all been in that situation where you have been booked, and especially if it's early on, you are then treading on a tightrope for the rest of the game.

"The harshest punishment is getting sent off and Chico got sent off."

Swansea now head to Newcastle next Saturday, still needing probably one more win from their last four fixtures to retain their top-flight status.