From The Scotsman:
"It just doesn’t happen often that you receive a call to help out the biggest club in the world," is how he describes a conversation that ended two years of "resting" following his dismissal by Everton. "It has been terrific and has allowed me to get back to doing what I love - without the involvement of the media, agents and the other non-football aspects. I’ve been working with a tremendous calibre of player and enjoyed every minute of it.
"None of that bothers me," Smith says. "I know what I was brought here to do, and I’d like to think I’ve justified the faith placed in me by Sir Alex. To judge United on this season is to take their achievements out of context. In the past 11 years they have had a third-placed finish, but in winning eight titles during that time they have never failed to claim the championship in back-to-back seasons.
"I think the players became a little demotivated towards the end of the league programme because they weren’t used to being in a position where they didn’t have a chance of coming first. But what has made United under Sir Alex is their resilience. It is a strain running right throughout his time at the club and one that has allowed them to come storming back from disappointments.
"The FA Cup may not be the priority but it can hardly be dismissed. Only last year Arsene Wenger stressed the importance of picking up this silverware after Arsenal won it, so the competition can’t have become worthless 12 months on."
"I have been taken aback by the scale, even after all I’ve been party to in the game," he admits. "It hasn’t just been the 67,000 at every home game and the worldwide fanbase where you receive constant reminders of being way in excess of what is attached to any other club. I wasn’t quite prepared for the demands placed on the players. Everyone wants a piece of them. All the time."
His ability to protect his charges has been one of Ferguson’s innumerable strengths during his near 18-year stewardship of United. Smith thought he knew all about what made the legendary figure tick.
The two men formed a lasting bond while Smith was assistant to Jim McLean and Ferguson scaled the heights with Aberdeen in the early 1980s. This was cemented when they took charge of Scotland for the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico. However, lately Smith has been moved to reassess the attributes of his kindred spirit. "I always considered that Sir Alex was one of the best managers the British game has produced," Smith says. "But seeing him at close quarters in a club environment, seeing how he pulls together the vast number of strands of the job, I now know he is the best."