As most top footballers in the UK right now, Paul Smyth is raring to get the season going and it doesn’t faze him that Queens Park Rangers are opening with a couple of tough fixtures. First up is West Bromwich Albion before an away trip to Sheffield United but thinking back to the second half of last season and how QPR performed against the top sides in the league, Smyth and his teammates are looking forward with confidence, he tells Tribalfootball in an exclusive pre-season interview.
“We played West Bromwich at our place and drew 2-2. On another night, we’d win the game 4-2 as we had a couple of decisions that didn't go our way. We also played Leeds and won 4-0 in a live game on Sky, so we know we can do it,” says Smyth who worked his way into the QPR side last season. Following a stint with Leyton Orient he returned to the club which released him back in 2021, not only to prove somebody wrong but also to prove to himself he was able to cut it at Championship level.
“I wanted to challenge myself after I didn't get my shot the first time, I was at QPR. That was one of the biggest reasons why I came back, just to prove that I can play and compete at this level. I did that last year, and I thought I did it quite well, I'm just hoping that I can keep that form going and continue this season,” says Smyth who looks back at the two years with Leyton Orient with great pleasure.
“It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I needed to go try and find myself again and play with that smile on my face. Richie Wellens gave me that at Leyton Orient. We ended up winning the league with a really good team. I played well and played my best football because I had the freedom to go and express myself and be me, just like the gaffer gives me here. Those two years at Orient benefited me massively.”
Learning all the time
While Richie Wellens can be a pretty demanding manager, as Smyth discovered at Brisbane Road, Wellens also practised the type of football he needed to flourish. The same type Marti Cifuentes also wants to practice at QPR.
“I've been on a few ends of heated conversations with Wellens, but we clicked very well. He plays attacking football like the gaffer here and he just gives you that freedom to go on and let the wingers do their thing. He's happy with you losing the ball as long as we react and try and win it back straight away. It’s very similar to Cifuentes in that aspect. He wants to win every single game, even the most small-sided game in training.”
Marti Cifuentes’ stock is very high at Queens Park Rangers after transforming a relegation-threatened club with dire results last season into a winning unit and Smyth is looking forward to a new season with the Spaniard in the dugout.
“He just wants to play attacking football and showcase what everyone can do. He lets us all go forward. He gives the forward players freedom, and that's what I enjoy. Going one-on-one with the full-back and doing our thing”, continues Smyth who has found his footing after two years spent in League Two.
“I showcased what I could do last year. I was capable of playing and competing and I enjoyed the challenge of coming up against all different full-backs. Some plays inverted, some not, some play deep, some defensive, some attacking. You're learning the whole time as you're playing, even in training.
“With the quality of players that we've got, you're competing against them too. If I can get past the ones in our team in training, then I’m more likely to get past any other full-back in the league. If I can just keep on the form I was in last season, I'll do really, really well,” says a wonderfully confident Smyth. The kind of confidence you gain after prospering in first a promotion-winning side then surviving a relegation-scrap with another club.
Never doubted the quality
“I've been in a relegation battle before so I know what it's like to come out the other end successfully. While in it, you can't stress and get worked up about it. You’ve just got to take it game by game and when the form clicks it clicks and that's what happened to us at the back end of the season. It was obviously a relief to get over the line but I was quite calm during the whole thing because I knew we had a good squad. I knew we had the quality to stay in the Championship and push on.”
Smyth has set himself the same target as always before a new season.
“I want to start as many games as possible. When I was at Leyton Orient, I missed out half a season the first year and that was just mentally tough for me. Being away from football and not being a part of that winning feeling with the boys was tough. So, my main target every year is just to play as many games as possible and just contribute to the team,” Smyth states while also hoping the Hoops supporters will once again do their bit to spur the team on.
“They follow us in big numbers and sing loud and proud for their team. I think last year QPR fans spurred us on massively. They travelled in their numbers, to the big away games and at home games, they filled out the stadium. That's always a bonus for us because coming to Loftus Road, it's small, it's tight-knit, the fans can touch you from throw-in, it makes it quite intimidating for some teams coming. Hopefully they bring that again this year and push us on.”
Hoops and Dreams: Loftus Road Memories in association with CopyBet
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