‘Wanted and valued’ – Matt Smith on why he left Millwall and made Salford City switch

Matt Smith reckons that Salford City made him feel “wanted and valued” – and that is why he joined the League Two club from Millwall.

The 32-year-old signed an 18-month deal with Salford. He has six months remaining on his Lions contract.

Smith scored 22 goals in more than 100 appearances in SE16, which included a last-minute winner against South London rivals Charlton Athletic and a first-half hat-trick against Nottingham Forest in 2020.

Smith told Salford City’s club website: “Any player will tell you that to be wanted and valued is such a big thing.

“It’s certainly something I felt from when I first had a conversation with the manager and the club.

“I’ve always had a good rapport with every set of fans I’ve ever played for and I think that boils down to hard work.

“Ultimately, fans want to see someone who gives their all and then hopefully through that they see a bit of quality.

“Being a big, six-foot six target man is a little bit different to what the conventional footballer looks like. It is a different kind of skill set, but one hopefully which is effective and can bring goals, creativity and a bit of grit in both boxes.

“Promotion has to be the goal. We’re six or seven points off the play-offs with a huge chunk of the season left, we’ve got to have that aspiration and it’s certainly in the reach of the team.”

Salford boss Gary Bowyer added: “It happened very quickly, we got told that he might be available and asked the question.

“The lad’s got family up in Manchester, he was up here when he played for Oldham and did his degree and he fancied the project.

“Fortunately, we’ve been able to get a deal done, thanks to Gary Rowett and Millwall for their co-operation and how quickly it’s been done.

“He’s played in the Championship for so long, he’s always been a handful and when I was manager at Blackburn he was at Leeds. You see what he brings to the team, he’s a very intelligent footballer, and both on and off the pitch he’s going to have a massive impact for us.”