Alan Smith was overwhelmed by the ovation he was afforded by the
Old Trafford faithful when he made his first appearance at Old
Trafford since February in the Champions League win over FC
Copenhagen.
Smith received a rousing reception when he entered the fray on the
hour having fully recovered from the broken leg and dislocated
ankle sustained in the FA Cup defeat at Anfield earlier in the
year.
"The reception I got was incredible," a delighted Smith told MUTV
after the game." When I first got injured people told me to keep my
head down and work hard and I'd eventually get my rewards. The
ovation from the fans was one of those rewards and it was well
worth waiting for.
"I've still got a long way to go yet in terms of getting back to
the player I was. But that [the appearance against Copenhagen] is
one small step in the right direction.
"You always think you're ready before you are and I've been
desperate to play over the last couple of weeks," he added. "I've
had great people around me at the club making sure I didn't come
back before I was ready and, although I'm not completely match fit
yet, half an hour here and there will certainly help me."
Having spent the majority of last season in midfield, the
soon-to-be 26-year-old reverted back to his former position up
front against the Danes and should have scored when fellow
substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer squared the ball into the area.
Unfortunately for Smith he pulled his effort wide.
"I really should have scored," he admitted. "I said to Ole before
we came on that one of us would score and both of us probably
should have. Thankfully it didn't matter because we ran out worthy
winners."
The 3-0 victory made it three wins out of three for United and kept
them top of Group F, three points ahead of Gordon Strachan's Celtic
side.
"We set out to win the group and we've got to make sure we do
that," declared the striker. "We're in prime position now and if we
win in Copenhagen it will the give the gaffer the chance to rest a
few players in the last two games.
"We've made a good start to the season overall," he continued. "We
had a little blip against Arsenal but we've shown good courage
since then.
"Everyone's playing with so much belief and although we've got
difficult games coming up, we're more than capable of winning them.
If we can keep that attitude going we'll be a difficult team to
beat this season."
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