Smith: Back Me Or Let Me Go …
Sun: ALAN SMITH has asked Alex Ferguson: “Do you want me at Manchester United or not?”
The England striker is in the dark over his future, after being told last week he will not be getting a new contract.
Smith told SunSport: “If they are going to sell me, I’d like to know. But I won’t find out unless I get to speak to the manager.
“If you’re no longer wanted, then you have to consider your options.”
Smith still has two years to run on his current deal and was promised another last summer. Now United have changed their mind.
Boss Ferguson has not spoken to Smith about the decision, with chief executive David Gill informing him of the current situation.
Smith, signed for £7million from Leeds three years ago, added: “If the manager tells me he wants me, I’m there for him. If he says he doesn’t, it’s time to move on.
“He didn’t say anything to me at the end of the season. We played the FA Cup final, went home the next day and that was it.”
Smith finished the season on a high, after being out for more than a year with a broken leg and ankle.
He helped United to the title and was recalled to the England squad. But he does not want to spend next season on the bench.
Smith admitted: “I want to be out there from the start.”
Everton, Middlesbrough, Spurs, Aston Villa and Rangers are after him.
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Sun: ALAN SMITH reckons he is every inch a Manchester United player. But if United do not believe in him, he will prove himself somewhere else.
Smith is in limbo, having not been offered a new contract.But he remains fiercely ambitious and committed to the game.
The England striker is still only 26 and feels his best years are ahead of him.
If he is forced out of Old Trafford, three years after his £7million move from former arch-rivals Leeds United, it will not diminish his desire.
In an exclusive interview with SunSport, Smith insisted: “I know I’m good enough to play for Manchester United, or any other team in the Premiership, and I will prove that to anyone who doubts it.
“I’ve done everything I could do in terms of my effort and commitment to United and that’s what a lot of people questioned when I first signed. They thought I wouldn’t be the same as I was at Leeds.
“There has been a great response from the fans when I play and even when I don’t play. It’s fantastic.
“To hear the Stretford End sing my name as they do, considering which club I came from, means everything to me. They have always known I will give everything.”
Smith’s return, after he suffered a broken leg and ankle at Liverpool in February last year, has steeled him against adversity.
The fact Premiership champions United may not want him any more is a trifling setback compared to that injury, which could have finished him as a footballer.
Smith added: “Coming through a serious injury like I did, which was career-threatening, has made me mentally strong. That’s why what is going on at the moment is not such a big deal.
“There were occasions when I wondered if I’d ever get back to the player I was. I know there were those who thought it was over for me as a Premiership footballer.
“But I’m fine now and it was brilliant to end the season the way I did. I helped United to the title, got a Premiership winner’s medal, scored for England B against Albania and played against Brazil in the first full international at the new Wembley.
“If anyone had told me that would happen as I looked down at my wrecked leg at Anfield, I would not have believed them.”
Smith was taken aback by the compassion of football fans all over the country after his injury, which has made him determined to enjoy every moment he has in the game wherever he goes.
He revealed: “The amount of letters and support I got from United fans and supporters from everywhere, including Leeds, was unbelievable.
“It was overwhelming and makes you realise why you’re involved in the game and how much people do appreciate you. No one can ever take that away.”
Smith has always been a team man but fears that may have worked against him.
He has played in midfield whenever called upon without complaint. And at United his main job has been to set up chances for the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs, not to score himself.
It means his goal tally does not fairly reflect his contribution to the teams he has played for. Even when playing for England against Brazil, his priority was stopping Arsenal’s Gilberto Silva distributing the ball. No manager ever asks Michael Owen to do things like that.
Smith said: “I’ve played about half my career in midfield. I did it last season for United and, of my 220-odd matches for Leeds, more than 100 were in midfield.
“It doesn’t worry me. But I know if I play up front, like I did at Leeds alongside a forward such as Mark Viduka, I will get goals. I scored 20 in a season at Leeds when we were in the Champions League.
“If you’re in the team, you do what the manager wants. But maybe I’ve become too unselfish. You wonder if you should play for yourself more.
“The pleasing thing is the last few months of the season have been brilliant. I played in one of our best performances of the season against Roma, when we won 7-1 and I scored.
“I also played in some of the vital games leading up to winning the Premiership. The season ended a lot better than it started and to finish it with England was a great bonus, having only played about 10 or 15 games and been out for so long.
“Steve McClaren told me my passion and commitment around the squad helped everyone at a difficult time. So if I’m playing regularly for a club next season, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be involved in the next Euro qualifiers.
“At 26, I’ve a lot of improving to do. A lot of players aren’t at their best until they are 28 or 29.”
But the fact he is playing again is more than enough consolation for his present predicament. He accepts what will be will be.
Smith has never lost his sense of humour and, as he prepared to fly off on a three-week holiday, he laughed as he said: “I still have eight metal plates in my leg, so it doesn’t half set the alarms off when I go through airport security!”
