Sam’s delighted to make his Smart Boston move
LEFT winger Sam Smart spoke of his excitement about joining Boston United from National League North rivals Buxton United, highlighting the values of the club’s training schedule. The 25-year-old joined the Pilgrims on a permanent basis at the end of November after leaving Silverlands. Smart has plenty of National League, National League North and National League South experience to his name, having featured for the likes of Eastleigh, Havant & Waterlooville, FC Halifax Town and Brackley Town. The Portsmouth-born left-sider was registered and eligible to make his debut against Brackley, with Boston falling to a 2-1 defeat against one of Smart’s former sides. It was not the start Smart would have wanted to life as a Boston player on the pitch, but off it, he has enjoyed the welcome of his new teammates and believes the way the team operates in between matches will help his personal development. He said: “I’m really excited to be here for this new challenge, the lads have been great with me the short time I have been here already. “I feel like I have been here a while because I have fitted in well. “It is just about building those relationships now and kicking on from there. “As soon as the move came about, it was something I wanted to do and [Boston] being a hybrid club [in terms of training schedule] makes it feel like a proper footballing environment. “With three training sessions in a week, it feels like you can get more done and work on things in a little more detail and I’ve enjoyed it so far.” Ten days after their last league fixture, the Pilgrims’ trip to Scarborough was unfortunately postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, which at least gives more time on the training field for Smart to get accustomed to his new surroundings. Boston are winless in the previous five fixtures, with a team of youngsters losing to a Lincoln City XI last Wednesday in the Lincolnshire Senior Cup, so manager Ian Culverhouse will hope next weekend’s trip to Chester will produce a positive result to stop the slide down the league table.