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Smith happy to have stayed and fought for United role
MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Former England striker Alan Smith has admitted he made the right decision in deciding to stay and fight for his place at Manchester United.
Smith suffered a horror injury against Liverpool last season and was out of the side for more than a year.
In January, boss Sir Alex Ferguson gave Smith the option of going out on loan to a Championship side to try to regain his match-fitness and form, but Smith refused and instead stayed at United and worked on forcing his way back into the team.
After several months of hard graft, he was finally given his chance and played a starring role in United's awesome 7-1 Champions League demolition of Roma at Old Trafford last week.
"Manchester United are the biggest football club in the world," said Smith. "It is a huge challenge and in difficult times, it would have been easy to run away from it. But I am not going to do that.
"Sometimes, you have to make brave decisions. A lot of people questioned me when I said I wanted to stay but now, I hope the manager is pleased with the decision I made."
Smith's United career has been eventful to say the least. The Rothwell-born player received death threats when he quit his beloved Leeds to join the Elland Road outfit's hated rivals in 2004.
Smith then scored five goals in his first six games before ending the season as an unused substitute in the FA Cup Final defeat to Arsenal.
The following summer, Ferguson performed a U-turn on his initial vow to use the 26-year-old purely in a striking role by asking him to anchor United's midfield as he tried to find a replacement for the soon-to-be-departing Roy Keane.
As always, Smith embraced the challenge with gusto. But he did not quite look the part and the possibility exists if he had not been injured at Liverpool, he might well have been sacrificed last off season.
Instead, he has turned his career on its head and seems certain to be heavily involved as the race for silverware intensifies.
"I know I can do it in the Premiership, that has never been in question," he said. "This time last year I only had one leg but I have always been confident that I can have a positive effect on the team when I am fully fit.
"The gaffer showed a lot of belief in me when he picked me against Roma. It was everything I have worked for."
Smith is set to start again against Sheffield United on Tuesday, a match that on paper should pose the least threat to United's ambitions as Sheffield have lost their last seven away games.
However, a defensive injury crisis is biting deep at Old Trafford. Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic and Mikael Silvestre are definitely out and John O'Shea and Rio Ferdinand remain doubtful with minor strains, so Ferguson could be left to choose between Darren Fletcher and 18-year-old Craig Cathcart for the right-back slot.
Cathcart has been pulled out of Youth Cup Final duties at Liverpool, with speculation rising in his native Belfast that he could be set for an unexpected senior debut against the Blades.
Despite Ferguson's problems at the back, his side will still start favourites, with Smith admitting most neutrals are hoping United emerge triumphant in the title battle.
"When United were dominating, everyone wanted someone else to win," he said. "Now Chelsea have won it for a couple of years, the situation has changed.
"As players, we cannot worry about that. We have to stay focussed on each individual game - and we have a manager and coaches who will make sure we will."
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