Sheffield Wednesday striker opens up on ‘disappointing’ goals tally – reflects on Lee Gregory selection comments

The Sheffield Wednesday forward bagged both goals in the Owls’ comeback FA Cup win over Mansfield Town on Saturday, elevating his tally for the season in all competitions to seven in 18.

Smith holds personal goal targets close to his chest and though he remains confident in his all-round performance – he admits he’s behind where he’d like to be.

“I feel like I should be in and around the double-figures mark and so that’s disappointing, the goals, but it’s more about the team,” he said.

“There are so many goalscorers in the squad and as long as we’re picking up results it’s alright.

“That takes the pressure off if we’re winning games. The lads have done unbelievably well to chip-in from all over the pitch. It’s all good.”

Smith comes up against his former Rotherham United boss Paul Warne – now Derby County chief – this weekend. With a question mark over Josh Windass’ fitness, it may be that the Geordie target man is partnered with Lee Gregory, who last week spoke candidly about the frustrations of such a competitive battle for match minutes.

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On that battle, Smith said: “The manager ultimately picks the team and the system we’re going to be playing in but there’s a lot of quality all over the pitch, not just up front.

“There are so many people vying for one or two spots on the pitch. At the moment, it’s all about playing well and keeping hold of your shirt because you know someone else will come in and do as good a job as you’re doing – you have to keep hold of that shirt.

“Over my career I’ve played under a lot of very different managers.

“The manager here has just asked me to get in the box and to score as many goals as possible! It’s a bit different to how Paul Warne set up our Rotherham team, we play out from the back here which is different here.

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“I’m thoroughly enjoying it and at my age I feel like I’m experienced enough to take those different things in my stride and hopefully kick on.”