Defender Rikki Smith believes his view from the bench has provided a valuable insight into Inglewood United’s inner workings. One of the clubs’ most experienced players, Smith’s cool demeanour and talent for breaking up opposition attacks made him an automatic selection in an anchoring role across the opening half of the season.
However, back-to-back losses at the start of this month led to a defensive reshuffle that has had Smith in the unfamiliar and unwanted role of substitute for the last fortnight. It’s a switch the 28-year old has turned into a positive. “I hate missing games and watching from the sideline but it certainly opens your eyes to things you may not have noticed when playing,” he said.
“There has been a pattern developing recently which starts with us playing some great football at a very high intensity for the first 25 minutes without taking our chances. But whether you take your chances or not becomes irrelevant if you can’t keep clean sheets. The best sides in the world are built on defensive stability and pride themselves on having a measly goals against figure.”
“We’ve been playing some great football going forward but that’s no good if you don’t have the discipline and work rate, as a team, to dig your heels in and defend. We haven’t had the work rate as a team and I believe it’s played a part in our recent results. Hopefully my experience of the last couple of weeks can help get us a win this week.”
Smith has been doing all he can on the training track to convince coach Michael Garcia that its time he be restored to the starting line-up. “Arriving to a game and hearing your name read out on the list of substitutes is not a nice feeling, and one that I have no intention of getting used to,” he said.
“All you can do is take a step back, not worry about what other players are doing and work out what improvements you need to make to get back into the line-up. Work rate has always been one of my best qualities and I’m confident that if I keep working hard the gaffer will have no choice but to put me back in.”
Inglewood’s next assignment is on home soil to Perth Glory who, although bottom of the National Premier Leagues, have taken points from their last two games. “They’ve been unlucky in quite a few games this year, dropping points to late equalisers,” Smith said. “That may be down to a lack of experience but you can guarantee they will make up for it with energy.”
“We were composed and professional in this fixture earlier in the season and that will be a key ingredient to coming away with the three points again. The club is working extremely hard to develop off the field, and we have to keep the development going on the field. The top four is still our target and the recovery starts this weekend.”
“We are working hard on the training track and the gaffer has been sending clear messages in regards to the good behaviours he expects. Everyone is on notice and the pressure is on to get a result. We need to deliver a disciplined performance on Saturday and secure the win.” Inglewood and Glory pit skills on Saturday from 3:00pm at Inglewood Stadium.
