Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Leading the line is tonic for Terrors
“Being away from your mates can take its toll so it is terrific to be back.
“We have progressed quite quickly into the pre-season build-up as a squad and that’s been excellent to see.”
Like the rest of the United players, he was surprised when boss Robbie Neilson left to go to Hearts.
However, Smith thinks the turnaround that saw Micky Mellon take over has not adversely affected the players.
He said: “It was unexpected when Robbie left because usually you hear things leading up to something like that.
“This, though, was very sudden. We didn’t see it coming.
“What happened, I suppose, was that we all had to get over that news quickly.
“We got on with our jobs in training and then the new gaffer arrived.
“The great thing is that I don’t think the whole thing detracted from our preparations.
“It didn’t impact on the players in any way, really.
“We were coming in every day for pre-season and just getting on with it.
“It didn’t seem to be too different from what we would have expected had the previous manager still been here.”
Smith and his mates have benefited from the use of Dundee
North End’s pitch for their pre-season training.
The generous gesture from the junior club was marked with a visit to North End Park from Smith and teammate Jamie Robson to officially thank the Dokens.
The tie-up is likely to lead to a closer relationship between the two sides.
North End gaffer Tony McAulay said: “We got a call saying United were looking for somewhere for pre-season and we were delighted to help.
“It has worked out great for them and it will do for us as well because we see the relationship between the clubs growing even stronger now.”