Newcastle star Alan Smith reveals crunch meeting of players rescued Toon's season

Alan Smith has revealed how an angry meeting of Newcastle players weeded out unsettled stars and set the Geordies season on track.

The midfielder has lifted the lid on how Newcastle shook off a summer of drift and turmoil and got their squad united and ready for the “muck and nettles“ battle of the Championship.

Smith says senior stars called a summit after the humiliating pre-season defeat at Orient, and tough talking ensured a handful of stars who admitted they wanted out were ditched, and gave the rest of the squad no excuses as the committed to the season ahead.

Newcastle travel to Sheffield United tonight looking to consolidate an automatic promotion spot, in the first game since Mike  Ashley appointed Chris Hughton full time, took the club off the market and said he was selling naming rights for St James’ Park.

Smith is delighted Hughton has got the job and said: “The hardest thing at the start of the season was knowing which players wanted to stay. We came back in the summer and no-one knew what was going on in terms of could players be sold. Certain players were making it clear they wanted to leave but the club said no-one was going to be sold. That was the most difficult time.

“We went to Leyton Orient and it was a disaster. But everything came to a head. It was clear that five or six of the players wanted to leave, which was fair enough. We had a meeting when we came back from the game - just us players.

“We said whoever wants to leave, they can leave, and we’ll help them to go. Whoever wants to stay then commit yourself to stay. That’s where we are now. That was a massive turning point. In a way getting that bad result was the best thing that could have happened. It was what needed to happen.

“It was one of the strangest things ever. We were managing ourselves. Chris knew that we were having that meeting and he stood back and let us sort things out.

“There was never a chance that I would be one of the ones asking to go. I needed to play regular football. That’s what I’ve missed for the last three seasons. You just want to play. I was 29 on Wednesday so I can’t afford to miss any more games. I never feel any twinge of regret. I wanted to stay.”

Smith has been one of Newcastle’s top performers this year, adding bite to the midfield, and he is loving the responsibility of being a senior star.

He said: “The Championship is more muck and nettles. It’s Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday Saturday. You go to grounds where as a kid I used to watch football. The Premier League is this massive worldwide thing, it’s unbelievable. But this division has something special as well.

“We are seeing how difficult it is, we’re going to places where everyone in the world expects you to win and sometimes you get beat. That’s the beauty of it. In a way we are the Man United of this division in that everyone wants to beat us.”

“But this season has been very enjoyable. The camaraderie is great. Last year there was a big divide between players, fans and football club. This season you can see a togetherness.”

Smith says Newcastle fans have every right to express their opinions on Ashley’s regime, as long as they support the team on the pitch.

Tonight there will be more chanting against Ashley, and Smith said: “There is the old cliche that they pay their money so they can say what they want. And I believe that. It is up to them if they chant this or that about the board.

“They support us, so you can’t say they’re fickle. To get 44,000 against Doncaster was incredible, the highest attendance in the country. That tells you how passionate they are. They’ve helped us so much this season by getting behind us.

“I think they’ve enjoyed it as much as we have. There will be ups and downs. If you go Scunthorpe, take 3,500 and get beat, you don’t deserve a good reception. As a fan you want a team you can be proud of every week, win lose or draw.”

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