Swansea City’s captain was talking about his vice captain who reaches the landmark against Derby at the Liberty this afternoon.<\/p>\n
And whilst Monk was not convinced of the concept of a team of Alan Tates, he was complimentary about his influence on the club since his arrival in South Wales eight years ago.<\/p>\n
Monk told the Western Mail \u201cYeah, we\u2019ve had a few laughs about that song, I think we both agreed it would be a pretty basic side, but it would give you everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s someone for kids to look up to here. He knows everything about the club and what it takes to wear the shirt. Just look at how he\u2019s played in so many positions over the years \u2013 even in goal \u2013 he\u2019s been superb wherever he\u2019s been asked to play. That says everything about his attitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure I would have thought that when I first came to the club; he didn\u2019t strike me as someone who was the type to hang around when things weren\u2019t going his way. But I\u2019ve got to know him more since then and seen him grow up a lot as a player as well as a person.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all make mistakes when we\u2019re young and Tatey was the same, but he\u2019s taken responsibility for himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be easy to blame everyone else, but he\u2019s realised what it takes to be part of a winning side, learned his lessons and added to his game. You have to learn quick in this game and we\u2019re lucky to have a player who has that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n