Planet Swans ArchivesThe Swansea City vice captain will line up against his former manager and team mate tonight backed by a huge army of travelling Swansea supporters.
All 4,490 tickets allocated to the Swans for the game have been sold out and with the Roberto factor coming into play, it promises to be a noisy night at the DW Stadium this evening.
Speaking to the Western Mail, Tate said “Roberto’s going to get stick, there’s no point beating around the bush, off some fans who feel very let down by him.
“The thing that let him down was when he said he was forced out as a player and would have to be forced out as a manager. At the end of the day he was not forced out as a manager.
“But Roberto realises that and I don’t think anything that’s going to happen will be something he doesn’t expect.
“It’s something that he is going to have to deal with and I am sure he will.
“We always have good away support, but this one is going to be something special for the fans because what happened with Roberto is something that still riles them.
“It’s definitely one I want to win for the fans.
“I played alongside Roberto and then under him as a manager and I will always have that respect I had for him when he was captain.
“Very rarely will I say a bad word about him.
“But what he’s done is done and we’ve moved on.
“I’ve learnt that managers come and go and I will be happy at Swansea City, regardless of who the manager is.
“You only have to look at the players and managers who have come and gone, the grass is not greener.
“I’ve always said it’s the club I love playing for.
“Probably the biggest compliment you can pay the players, is how we have kept it going when Roberto left,” added Swansea’s vice-captain Tate.
“The lads did better for Paulo than he did for the lads.
“Now the new gaffer’s come in and he is doing as much for us as we are for him and he is probably very happy with the players he’s got.
“We are now doing a lot better day-to-day, but it’s a tough ask against a Premiership team.
“They will be strong favourites being where they are, but we’ve got nothing to lose.
“We can go out there and enjoy ourselves. Everyone is there to be beaten.”
