No regrets as Smith firmly focused on good Ayr play
THERE are no regrets for Liam Smith. Instead of looking back, he is gazing forward once again.
The defender doesn’t think ‘what if?’ when reflecting on his departures from Hearts or St Mirren. Now at Ayr United and back top of the Championship, he has no reason to ponder.
If his exit from Tynecastle wasn’t a complete shock, there was an element of surprise that he wasn’t kept on in Paisley after playing his part in helping the Buddies win promotion last term.
Smith may not be a Premiership player, but he is enjoying his football at present. The Honest Men are flying high and show no signs of crashing back down to earth.
“The enjoyment side is important, and the fact I’m playing every week,” Smith said. “I wanted to improve myself last year and I hoped those improvements would take me into the Hearts first team. That didn’t happen but I’ve gone to a team who play similar to how St Mirren played last year. With the confidence that has taken us to the top of the league, it’s a big positive for me and the club.
“With a change of manager, everyone has their own opinions. [Alan] Stubbs wanted to build his own squad, which is understandable.
“I enjoyed my time there. It was great. If I had had the opportunity to stay, I would have taken it seriously. But it never occurred.”
A Championship medal didn’t come with a Premiership place for Smith and now he is embarking on the same quest once again. It is one he, and his Somerset Park teammates, perhaps didn’t expect to be on.
The challenge is bringing out the best in Ayr. They are two points clear at the top of the table after a remarkable start to the campaign and Smith is pleased to be under the guidance of boss Ian McCall this term.
“It’s difficult to put your finger on it,” he said when asked about McCall’s managerial secrets. “I think if you went in and watched him for a week you’d be able to tell me. He seems to get the best out of his players and that’s important for every manager.
“His man-management is good. For us, it’s hard to pick an 11 on a Saturday. He says every week boys have come in, scored and set up goals, then the next Saturday they’re not in the team. He still manages to keep them on side and they come on and make an impact.”
The form Smith has shown has been crucial for Ayr and now he has a chance to take his domestic confidence into the international arena with the Scotland Under-21s.
Scot Gemmill’s side face Ukraine and England in the final two European Championship qualifiers and back-toback victories are in their sights as they look to progress from Group Four.
“The last two games gave us a huge confidence boost going into these two games this week still with a chance of qualifying,” Smith said.
““We know what we need to do. Scot is as thorough as it comes to preparation. We’ll have a game plan and implement it, like we did in Holland.”