Alan Tate has stuck up for his Swansea defence ahead of the trip to Hartlepool

Swansea's vice captain will continue at the heart of defence today alongside Dennis Lawrence as one of two players who have been roundly criticised this season for their performances.  The Swans have conceded 35 goals in their 39 matches to date - the third best defensive record in the division - but that has not stopped criticism of the line up at the back with only Garry Monk and Angel Rangel seemingly immune from the firing line.

Tate and Lawrence were at the heart of a defence that found themselves 2-0 down at half time to Bristol Rovers on Monday and who - quite inexplicably - found themselves booed off the field at half time despite being by a margin the best team in the division season to date.   And maybe that has become too much for the Sunderland supporting Tate to bear as he looks for a win in his native North-East this afternoon.

Speaking openly in the Western Mail, Tate said “People who criticise the defence for conceding goals are just stupid

“The team concedes goals. It does not say the Swansea defence are 1-0 down, does it? The same way it does not say the Swansea attack are 1-0 up. People who see it like that are just nit-picking.

“And no-one was complaining about me and Dennis when we beat Bristol Rovers 2-0. You are going to concede goals, you just can’t stop everything. It is part and parcel of the game. It is a team game, you win together and you lose together.

“Every team has a bad spell, it does not matter who you play for, if you are top of the league or in the middle,” he said. “Every team, in every league has a bad spell – just look at Real Madrid at the minute. They have lost their last two at home. Just take a look at Arsenal.

“It is something in football you can’t put your finger on. Hopefully, we have come through ours. People say we’ve got the jitters, but we are unbeaten in three now. But nobody says that, people just say we have not won the last few at home.

“That is the way they see it. Anyway, maybe we have earned a bad spell. We have put the most points on the board, that is why we are top of the league.

“If people think we are crawling towards the finishing line then that is fine. I would rather be crawling than going backwards. It depends what kind of person you are, the way you look at things. Personally I am a positive person, but you get people who are negative.

“If we were in Doncaster’s place, then people would be saying we were never going to catch up. But because we are in front people are saying they are going to catch us. I don’t see how that works, but sometimes fans think the worst and see a totally different game to the players.

“Obviously we want to win the league, but that comes second to gaining promotion. Once you win promotion then you think about the title. Promotion is the main aim.”

Another one well criticised on this season's journey is Jason Scotland - with 28 goals to his name to date - and Tate is quick to stick up for the Swans leading scorer “Jason has done really well for us. Any team that is going to win a league is going to need a player who is going to get them over 20 goals,” said Tate.

“You look at Manchester United with Ronaldo, or Peterborough in League Two with Aaron McLean, any side going to do something has a player like Jason.”

Photo: Action Images

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