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Alan Tate was not the greatest player to play for Swansea City.

With a standard smile and typical Tate cheek, he might well have argued otherwise. What can never be up for debate is his position as a real icon, a cult hero, a Liberty legend.

Some may take issue with the latter term, wonder how a player of his standing enjoy similar status as giants of the Welsh game like Alan Curtis and Robbie James among many others.

Yet not every inspiration or influence has to be the greatest player and there simply cannot be any doubting of the impact the Mackem turned Jack had on Swansea and the club they have become.

Small-city stardom

When he joined from Manchester United, Swansea’s immediate future was not a fifth season in the top-flight but a fight for their lives for Football League survival. Tate has told stories of fry-ups at Tesco after training and the young lad tasting senior football for the first time wasn’t exactly shy of the small-city stardom that came his way.

But what he brought was also the undeniable winning influence and honesty that could be uncomfortable for some but was always to the benefit of a club he grew to love.

Tate returned after becoming one of the heroes of Hull, boring family and friends back home about his experiences in front of the North Bank so much they suggested he headed back to South Wales.

Alan Tate at Swansea City

MORE: Alan Tate on leaving the Swans: 'I've loved every minute of it'

And he never once shied away from becoming a young leader, someone willing to stand-up and speak up whether it bothered those who heard it or not. Think Gary Neville at United; the type the rivals would hate – and Cardiff supporters never flagged in their dislike of him – but whose own fans would cherish.

It made him for compelling interviewing, the first point of contact after controversial incidents or comments from others to the club press office’s anguish. When Richie Wellens of Doncaster – a former Old Trafford teammate of Tate’s – was alleged to have spat at Leon Britton, Tate didn’t flinch as he spoke of the need for Fifa to introduce a rule that you should be allowed to punch the transgressor.

'Swansea's Vieira'

He never took himself too seriously but had the streak of confidence, arrogance even, that helped him become the hugely versatile addition to the Swans side that saw him play consistently well at both centre-half and both full-back roles. He anchored midfield to win man of the match – “You can call me Swansea’s Patrick Vieira” – and couldn’t gather the gloves quick enough when Dorus de Vries went off injured with no goalkeeper cover on the bench.

He never took his fate lying down, looking cast out by Roberto Martinez at one point and then Brendan Rodgers but fighting back in the only way he knew how because, while he would be the loudest moaner at times, he was often the hardest trainer.

Because while he could never claim to be Swansea’s greatest player, he was often underrated by some. A calmness on the ball, a style to fit the passing philosophy and a battler too, deservedly player of the year under Paulo Sousa.

There was a genuine love of the club that went far beyond kissing the badge and playing to the gallery, deep-rooted enough to make him the one telling journalists in the bowels of Wembley after the play-off promotion about how the Hull result had been mirrored with a hat-trick in a 4-2 win including two penalties.

It was why he was the one willing to go public over issues with Michael Laudrup (“We played like 11 individuals – we need to get back to being a team”) which eventually cost him his captaincy and his place after recovering from that freak golf cart injury that always had him playing catch-up in the unforgiving Premier League surroundings.

Brutal honesty

Laudrup’s agent told him to shut up afterwards, but Swansea fans would always want to hear Tate’s opinion over others; as brutally honest as it often was.

He was honest with himself too, knowing his chances would be limited and heading off on loan which denied the chance of a proper and fitting farewell after more than 300 appearances and just as many headlines.

It says something that the fans, who would often call for a team of Alan Tates, remember moments such as him leading the side out for the first time in the Premier League over the penalty shoot-out miss in the League One play-off in 2006 that the Sunderland fan tortured himself over.

He was one of the dressing room inspirations that made sure setbacks like that didn’t last at the Liberty, getting his chance to play at Old Trafford as a Swan to complete the circle.

Before that game, he reminisced of his time at Swansea. He said: “You couldn’t write the script, but I do remember when Kenny Jackett took over we had a squad dinner before an away game.

“He went through the side asking them to stand up and speak about their ambitions. Most of the lads were talking about playing for this club or at the highest level.

“When it came to me I said I want to play at the highest level for Swansea. Most of the lads laughed.”

He may not have been Swansea’s greatest player, but no-one should laugh when you call him a legend.