Cammy vows to play part in Saints title tilt
CAMMY SMITH has revealed he had no hesitation leaving the club he supported as a boy in order to team up once again with Jack Ross at St Mirren on a two-year deal.
Smith came through the ranks at Aberdeen, where he used to watch on from the Pittodrie stands as a youngster and dream of turning out for the Dons.
With his chances of regular first-team football with Derek McInnes’s side looking slim though, the striker has had to face up to the prospect that his future lay away from the north-east.
But with a successful loan spell at St Mirren in the second half of last season, the fact that the opportunity to re-join a club where he feels so at home has softened the blow for the 21-year-old.
“When I went back and had meetings with Aberdeen over the summer it was a case of what was best for my career,” Smith said. “I couldn’t waste another year sitting on a bench.
“Aberdeen are a massive club, you don’t need to tell me that, I’m from Aberdeen, I grew up a fan. But sometimes you need to take a step back and look at the big picture.
“Derek McInnes was fine with me and basically thought it would be better for me to come and play here.
“The manager here is perfect for me and hopefully we can continue that, but football can change overnight so we just need to take it as it comes. But we are all pulling in the same direction.
“This is a good club, a good sized club, their ambitions are the same as mine so it made sense for me to come here. So hopefully I can find form and help the team do what we want to do this season.
“Coming down here for the last six months of last season made me realise that playing every week and being happy was a big part of it and enjoying my Monday to Friday training.
“I enjoyed my Monday to Friday training at Aberdeen but come the Saturday it could get frustrating.
“Managing to stay up was massive last season and this year we want to be at the opposite end of the table.”
To that end, Smith believes that mounting a challenge for the play-offs should be the very minimum expectation for St Mirren in the coming season.
“It’s not an unrealistic target at all,” he said. “I think you need to aim high so we’re not going to hide away from it, we want to be up there challenging.
“We’re not saying that it’s 100 per cent going to happen or it’s going to be easy but I think that we’ve got a squad in place, a team and a manager that are good enough to do that.”
One of the main reasons for Smith’s confidence stems from the fact Ross has managed to maintain the core of the side that finished last season so well, as well as making some quality additions.
And the importance of the boss himself deciding to remain in Paisley is not lost on Smith either.
He added: “Keeping the manager is a really good bit of business so the feelgood factor is definitely here and I can’t wait to get started.”