Promotion with Weymouth would surpass winning title with City – Smith (From Dorset Echo)

Promotion with Weymouth would surpass winning title with City – Smith

8:31am Thursday 14th March 2013 in Sport By David Williams, Sports Reporter

DAN Smith has admitted that achieving promotion from the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division with the Terras this season would eclipse winning the title with Truro City two years ago.

The 23-year-old midfielder had to sit out the recent wins over Hemel Hempstead Town and Banbury United because of a fractured hand but has now been given the thumbs up to return to action.

And after watching Ed Palmer’s late strike see off Banbury last Saturday, Smith firmly believes a promotion place is now Weymouth’s to lose.

He even went as far as saying that going up to the Blue Square Bet South in his first season at the Dorset club would surpass the title success he had with Truro in 2011.

“I don’t think I’ve celebrated a goal as much as I did on Saturday when watching from the sidelines,” Smith told Echosport. “When that went in it really felt like we could stay in the play-offs.

“We could finish second or sixth as it’s so tight at the top but I think only Gosport are in better form than us at the moment.

“Getting promotion in my first season at Weymouth would be brilliant.

“I was at Truro when they won the championship in this league but if we won the play-offs this season I think it would better that.

“I genuinely believe we are good enough to stay in the top five now, we’ve just got to see out the rest of the season.

“The experience we have with the likes of Barry McConnell and Scott Walker is good for the changing room and it can help push us over the line.”

Having had his cast removed this week, Smith’s focus is now on forcing his way back into Brendon King’s plans but he knows that won’t be easy given the Terras’ form - they have won their last five in a row.

“When I got the injury against Hitchin I was playing in the hole behind the strikers,” he added. “Craig Duff has come in and done a good job but we’re quite different players so it will all be down to what Brendon wants to go with.

“It’s been frustrating not to play because the only thing keeping me from playing was the cast.

“The referee wouldn’t let me play at Hemel because the cast was too hard and if I had tried to hand someone off they would have been out for the count.

“But although it’s been frustrating I’m just happy that the lads have been winning and at the end of the day it’s all about points on the board.”