"Yes, that is correct.
"Alan is doing really well at the moment.
"We put him on a speed programme, which had an immediate effect and we have seen a tremendous improvement in him over the last month.
"He is certainly not far away now.
"I wanted to take him down to West Ham but he didn't want to go. He just wanted to stay and train on his own. He deserves great credit for that because it is not easy.
"He doesn't want to travel again tomorrow either, so he will be training again."
Referring to Smith's decision not to go on loan to Cardiff City Fergie says:
"He did the right thing.
"He could have gone and played games but not been 100% to play in them, whether it is the Championship or the Premier League.
"Instead we worked out a programme to improve his speed that he has really taken to."
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