Brisbane Roar captain Matt Smith has expressed his delight at putting pen to paper on a new two-year contract, extending his tenure with the club until the end of the 2013/14 Hyundai A-League season.
Brisbane Roar captain Matt Smith has expressed his delight at putting pen to paper on a new two-year contract, extending his tenure with the club until the end of the 2013/14 Hyundai A-League season.
The solid central defender, who was handed the club captaincy by Head Coach Ange Postecoglou back in August, has been a mainstay in the Roar line-up since his move from the now-defunct North Queensland Fury with his form also earning him a place in a recent Qantas Socceroos training camp for domestic-based players.
“I-m very happy, we-ve been talking for a while and I-m absolutely stoked to finally sign,” Smith said.
“It was just a matter of when really, after the grand final last year Ange brought it up and there is no place I would rather be.
“I see a lot of growth here at the club and what we-ve done over the past 18 months is just a small glimpse into Ange-s plans here and I want to play a big part in that.
“The last couple of years I-ve also seen growth in my own game and I-m just aiming to get better and better.”
The Brisbane coach said it was an easy decision for him to re-sign Smith, backing the 28-year-old to continue to impress and improve over the next two years of his contract.
“He-s done very well in the past 18 months and we-re keen to keep the nucleus of this squad together,” Postecoglou said.
“In the A-League, it-s probably the biggest challenge for any club to try to keep the nucleus of players moving forward and he was one of the main ones who was out of contract this year so it-s good that we-ve locked him away for another couple of years.
“He-s been playing well, he-s had his own injury problems to overcome, but he-s wholehearted in his approach and he-s doing all right things and all the things I expected of him.”
Smith-s troublesome groin pulled up sore following Monday night-s 1-0 loss to Gold Coast United but is expected to be fit to play Melbourne Victory on New Year-s Eve.
The match kicks off at Suncorp Stadium at 7.30pm. Tickets available at the gate or at the Ticketek website.
