Smith tries to calm Derby jitters

13 April 2012

Jim Smith cut through the growing clouds of Pride Park doubt last night with a simple summary of the relegation equation.

As Derby fans looked anxiously at fixtures against Manchester United and Ipswich and wondered where the victory to secure safety will come from, Smith studied the table and announced there is nothing to worry about. 'We won't go down,' said Smith. 'I'm that confident.

'We're four points clear and I think that will be enough. Even if it isn't, I know what I can get out of the people here and we'll be better for what we've gone through.'

Smith's confidence is not shared by many Derby fans. Liverpool's opening goal at Coventry raised the biggest cheer on Saturday and even his play-ers feel it will go down to the last day.

Chris Riggott, whose performance underlined Smith's contention that he is an England defender in the making, admitted the dressing room was steeling itself for a last-day nail-biter.

He said: 'Everyone's talking about how hard our run-in is. Not many

teams get anything from Old Trafford so anything from there is a bonus.

'There's no sense of panic. It's very tight and it has been for a few weeks now. The problem has been that we've been relying on other teams for too long now.

'But we're confident we can do enough. We're looking to get the points we need against Ipswich. We beat them at their place.'

Smith could do without such concerns at this stage of his career, although he scoffed at Brian Clough's claims on television last week that he should follow him into retirement this summer.

The Derby boss said: 'Brian's made a lot of outrageous statements but I'm not going to worry about what he's said - and I'm sure Roy Keane (a target for criticism in Clough's newspaper column) would say the same.

'Nobody needs to tell me when to retire. It's certainly not going to be this week.

'As you get older and older, you have to start considering it. It doesn't go on for ever but despite the plight we've been in I enjoy being in football and want to turn things round here.

'I've been in football for 43 years now. The problem is that it becomes your life.

'Look at Bobby Robson, who is older than me. Dave Sexton came here this week, to look at the facilities before the England game. He's 70 but is still going round. I'm not sure I'll be doing that - not unless there are a lot of teams in Spain I don't know!'

There was little Smith could do on Saturday as Arsenal dominated. Kanu's clinical close-range opener after 21 minutes should have led to more, and Arsene Wenger's side paid the price when Stefano Eranio headed in on the stroke of half-time.

It was not until 10 minutes from time that substitute Robert Pires powered in with his first touch for a victory Arsenal celebrated with huge intensity. The Gunners face Leeds next week and Wenger is frustrated at once again having to fare without the enigmatic Kanu and Lauren, both back in Africa on World Cup duty.

That increases the need for Dennis Bergkamp to return after his achilles problem, especially with the Leeds match providing a last chance of match fitness before the FA Cup Final trip to Cardiff.

Wenger said: 'Dennis had a good training session and he could join in a full session on Wednesday. If everything goes well for him, and Kanu has to travel, he could play against Leeds.'

Wenger added: 'The next two games will define our season. Next week will be a very decisive game.'

Riggott and Smith both felt Tony Adams might have been sent off after clipping Malcolm Christie's heels although Wenger was more relieved that Freddie Ljungberg's angry reaction to a foul from Paul Boertien escaped the red card which would have ruled him out of Cardiff.

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Smith tries to calm Derby jitters

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