The Swansea City vice captain will once again line up on derby day in the home side’s line up this Saturday claiming that the visitors go into the game as favourites because of their extra spending levels.
£4m was reported to have been splashed on Michael Chopra this summer and although Tate says that is good business it is a different position to the Swans who broke their own transfer record for the signing of Craig Beattie – a signing that could rise to £800,000.
Speaking to the Western Mail, Tate said “I think they definitely go into the game as favourites.
“They have to be when you look at their position in the league at the moment and the amount of money they have spent on players and wages.
“And they probably have higher expectations placed on their board because of it – so it’s up to them to deliver.
“They’ve spent a lot of money on players like Michael Chopra, but you have to say it looks like good business because he’s their top scorer.
“We’re not bothered by the amount of money they’re spending and I’m happy with what we’ve got here – but, when you look at it all, you would have to say they are favourites.
“There’s always something special about a derby.
“And perhaps more so for me because of what’s gone on in the past.
“And I’ve been here too long not to know what this means to everyone around the city and, as much as we want to have a good Liberty atmosphere, I won’t need to ask the fans to do that.
“Just as no-one in the dressing room needs to be told about it. They only have to look at the road signs around the place to see how close the two teams are to each other. This game is self-explanatory.
“But at the same time it doesn’t change the fact it’s really just another game where there’s three points at stake.
“We wear these shirts to win games for this club and that’s the same every week.
“The team with a level head will win the game.
“It’s a tough test for us – they are top scorers in the Championship and that is no fluke.
“But we’ve been keeping clean sheets and it is up to us to keep to our game and cut out their chances.”
