Smith revels in glory of 'battle'
Leeds hero Alan Smith hailed a magnificent backs-to-the-wall performance that resulted in a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Elland Road and admitted: “We rolled our sleeves up and battled for it.”
Rio Ferdinand’s hotly-anticipated return ended with the bitter taste of defeat as Harry Kewell temporarily sent Leeds back to the top of the Premiership.
Smith said: “We came back against Newcastle and did what we had to do today. We dug in – we played better at Newcastle but in the we got the three points.
“In the first half we were under pressure. They had world-class players all over the park. We knew we could play better in the second and the manager just told us not to be scared and to play football.
“We were a bit nervous in the first half. Maybe it was the atmosphere but we came out in the second half and rolled our sleeves up and battled.”
Asked about Ferdinand‘s performance, Smith said: “A lot of stuff has been said but we concentrated on our performances.
“I had a few battles with him and I‘ll wish him all the best.
“The fans are different – now he has gone to our main rivals,” he told Sky Sports 1.
