Smalling Proud Of Senior Role

Chris Smalling is thoroughly enjoying another pre-season tour with Manchester United and, having made over 150 appearances during his flourishing career at Old Trafford, the England international is now one of the more senior figures in Louis van Gaal’s ever-changing squad.

Ahead of this summer’s second Tour 2015 match, presented by Aon, against San Jose Earthquakes, Smalling sat down with MUTV to reflect on his five seasons in Red and explain why he’s determined to score more goals this season, while also providing a positive update on the team’s progress in the United States…

First of all, how much are you enjoying this pre-season tour of America?
Yes it was great to be back in Seattle. The weather has been terrific to play in and the facilities are to be remembered.

What’s it been like to train in the heat?
It can be difficult and the last couple of days have been a lot hotter than the first few days but it has been good for fitness and having to deal with that.

How are the new players settling in?
They're great, I think the fact that they came straight on tour has helped them. You get to spend 24 hours, near enough, with them so you get to know them a lot quicker than just by training with them at home. It has been good to get to know them.

How is your fellow defender Matteo Darmian doing?
He's an active full-back who likes to bomb on and you can see that from his 45 minutes the other day. His English is very good as well so it's a lot easier for him to adjust when you don’t have to learn a new language.

What was it like last term when the defence kept changing due to injuries and suspensions?
It was difficult. Everyone picked up a fair few injuries and we were chopping and changing formations, but we seem to have settled on a formation now and hopefully we can avoid the injuries and get a good consistent run with the back four.

You played with various players last season. Did you have to change your game a bit?
No not really, in whichever position I play – whether it be the right centre-back or left centre-back – the game-plan is the same and the instructions for each position are very clear for whoever steps in. There is no need to adjust, you just have to slide in and everyone has their jobs. I think we did quite well last season, we had to make a lot of changes but everybody knew their jobs so it didn’t affect us too much.

The team is unbeaten in nine games when you and Phil Jones have started together at centre-back. That’s an interesting stat for you…
Yeah it is good to be able to get stats like that and we need to be comfortable. We are always chopping and changing, playing with different partners and you never know what happens throughout the season, so we all need to be comfortable with each other.

Having played over 150 matches, and worn the captain’s armband, you must be proud?
Yeah I am. If it wasn’t for injuries I would have hoped to have hit that number a lot sooner, but it was a good second half to last season when I was able to get a good run of games. I am enjoying this pre-season, so I am looking to kick on and have a great season.

You scored four goals last season. You must have been pleased with that?
The manager was not happy that the defenders were not scoring so it was nice to be able to chip in and hopefully set a benchmark for next season. I think I have to put a lot more pressure on myself and the other defenders to really chip in because we do have a lot of the ball so we will have more corners than the other team, so we need to make sure they count. I will be working a lot harder this season to make sure that we take some of those opportunities.

It’s important that other players help the strikers out with goals…
Definitely and I think our goal ratio last year was quite spread across the squad and if us defenders can chip in then it will help the strikers.

There is a lot of competition to start for United and England. Do you relish that?
Yeah, there is a lot of competition, at England. And at a top side like United there is always competition. We have still got more players to join later on this tour and I think it keeps everyone on their toes, and everyone is thriving to improve. It is nice that there are people waiting to take your place.

Looking back at when you joined United, have you learned a lot since then?
I think I have. I was young, especially when I joined and I was obviously a lot younger than now. When you are 19, 20 and 21 you have to grow up, act fast in high-pressure situations where the onus is on to win the games, so I think I have learned a lot.

With younger lads like Paddy and Tyler, do you think of how you were?
Yeah you can relate to them a lot, especially when you are put in to that first-team situation. For both of them, I think it helped that it wasn’t the odd game to start with. It was a case of them being thrust in straight away and they had to land on their feet. That is the best way to land. It is great for your confidence, it really does lift you and you feel part of the squad.

What will fans see from the team this season?
I think a team that shows a lot more consistency and especially with our additions I think we will see a big goal threat in a successful season. Everyone is very confident of building on last season.

You signed your contract at the end of the campaign…
That was terrific that the manager has shown his faith in me and I am looking forward to repaying that faith to the manager in the matches ahead.

When you sit here, in the sunshine, does it feel a long way away from Maidstone?
It certainly does. There were no trips to places like lovely Seattle, or San Jose, or Chicago, so I am very honoured to be a part of this.