Smith’s committed style of play has finally endeared him to Newcastle supporters this season after two injury-ravaged campaigns in the Premier League. However, he knows he is walking a disciplinary tightrope as a result.
He said: “I’m getting more than I deserve. It’s been funny. The sending off at Cardiff, the ref later said I got that first yellow card wrong.
“The booking at Forest, the ref came to me at half-time and said sorry, I got it wrong.
“So what do you do? Maybe I have a reputation or I’m a marked man, who knows. But I’m not going to change after 11 years. It would be silly to try and do so.”
And Smith has also given his full backing to the appointment of Chris Hughton as permanent manager, even though he is completely different to other managers he has played for.
He added: “I think everyone in the dressing room is happy with the decision. I think he’s got the job because of what he’s done in difficult circumstances.
“Our lads have known Chris for a couple of years now and he is a very likeable man. It’s a strange thing to say because a lot of managers would do things differently to him.
“Sir Alex (Ferguson) is a completely different character, the other end of the scale to Chris I suppose. But they both want similar things, they just go about it in very different ways.
“In his own way he gets his point across. He is so enthusiastic and, you’d be surprised, but he is very forthright in telling us what he wants. He goes into everything with a fine toothcomb and wants everything done right. He’s not a shouter, but he’s got our respect.”
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