Skipper Smith '˜epitomises spirit' of Crawley Town

A Dermot Drummy handbook of what he wants from his Crawley Town players would start... Take note of captain fantastic Jimmy Smith and you won't go far wrong.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Nov 2016, 16:31 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 22:56 BST

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Jimmy Smith - Crawley Town FC v Wycombe Wanderers FC. Photo by Jack Beard. Fwd: Crawley v Wycombe (Full-Time) OAK-160806-E85855861Jimmy Smith - Crawley Town FC v Wycombe Wanderers FC. Photo by Jack Beard. Fwd: Crawley v Wycombe (Full-Time) OAK-160806-E85855861
Jimmy Smith - Crawley Town FC v Wycombe Wanderers FC. Photo by Jack Beard. Fwd: Crawley v Wycombe (Full-Time) OAK-160806-E85855861

The head coach believes the midfielder, who signed a contract extension last week, epitomises the spirit of the club.

Former Chelsea man Smith, who has made 92 appearances for Reds since joining in 2014, has shined under his old coach since being appointed skipper in the summer.

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Smith’s reward has been a contract extension to June 2019 and Drummy wants others to learn from him.

He said: “I am really pleased on Jimmy, I think he will grow into the roll as he is mature and I see him next year being a leader and changing his game a little bit.

“I want him to change his possession game in midfield and I think as he gets older he will go on to play that game.

“I see a lot in him that epitomises the spirit of the club and hopefully other will take note of the standard that I want.”

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When posed with the statement that Smith had flourished under him so far this season, Drummy said: “It’s for the fans to decide.

“I think the fans’ opinion is that he has, but for me, as a coach, it’s telling players genuinely that you think they are good, then that helps them.

“I said to him, that I thought he lacked confidence when I came here and he was a bit puzzled by that, but it just seemed to me he was playing the game at 100mph and the brain was running faster than the body at times.

“I wanted him to slow down and play a more mature role. He is still a work horse, but a lot better player than what he was, in my opinion, in terms of use of the ball and possession.”

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