Smith tossed lifeline by All Whites coach
Tommy Smith’s international career was thrown a lifeline on Tuesday when All Whites coach Anthony Hudson confirmed he would reconsider the English-born and based defender for selection.
After being ruled out of Hudson’s plans in May for again choosing to prioritise club over country, Smith reached out with an apology and a recommitment to the New Zealand cause.
The timing of the move comes with a considerable scepticism from certain sectors of the Kiwi football community.
Not only have the All Whites qualified for next year’s Confederations Cup and the next stage of 2018 World Cup qualifying since Hudson ruled Smith out, in 2010 the Ipswich Town player only committed to the team once their World Cup berth had been confirmed.
While putting the ball firmly in the court of Smith, who is recovering from back surgery and isn’t likely to be playing again for at least a month, Hudson was confident the decision to offer his former captain another chance would be validated.
The support of ‘‘two captains’’ Winston Reid and Chris Wood and fellow senior players Michael McGlinchey, Michael Boxall and Rory Fallon confirmed his own feelings.
‘‘I can’t convince people to have a certain opinion about it and I understand like with any decision we make there will be criticism,’’ Hudson said.
‘‘But I’m not here to convince people, I’m here to do what is right for the team. Only time will tell whether Tommy is serious about it. I believe he is and will be and there will be opportunities for him to show that.
‘‘The next one will be in the March window, depending on his rehab. Beyond that there are two or three other World Cup qualifiers he needs to be present for. If he isn’t then he won’t be part of what we’re doing.’’
Capped 29 times for New Zealand, Smith was still negotiating on a contract extension with his club when Hudson named his Oceania Nations Cup squad in May and said he didn’t have time to waste on players who were not committed to the national team.
While that contract extension had since been confirmed, Hudson didn’t want to comment on what exactly had changed for Smith.
What he did say, though, was they were dealing with a ‘‘very good player of very good character’’ who expressed he would do whatever he could to help the team get to the World Cup.
One other factor had changed the situation significantly, Hudson said.
‘‘It’s not right to go into details but things do go on for players that are not black and white. We’ve had players miss windows no-one talks about and there’s been a legitimate reason.
‘‘One thing is for sure, we’ve been trying over last two years to be in position where if a player wants to do that, that’s fine, but you’ll struggle to get back in team. We’re a lot stronger now, and the environment has changed.
‘‘Now we’re in a position to say these are the standards and this is line.’’
A line Smith doesn’t need to worry about for next month’s home and away World Cup qualifiers against New Caledonia but one that will come firmly into focus for the game against Fiji in March next year.
Get on the wrong side of that line again and his time in an All Whites jersey, while Hudson is coach anyway, will almost certainly be up.