Sam Smith has shared his excitement of facing Oxford this weekend in the derby clash at the Kassam Stadium. It is the first time the Royals have visited their rivals in 20 years and the striker is hoping to score to mark the occasion.
He said: “I always like to play Oxford. I enjoy rivalries, I just love it. If they like me or even if they don’t, it doesn’t bother me because ultimately, I play for Reading.”
“So, I’ll be doing my best to try and get result for the team and I’ll be trying my best to get a goal but more importantly, I just hope we get the win.”
The striker also spoke about the transfer rumours that surrounded him during the January window and why he chose to stay.
Smith said: “To be honest I didn’t really want to leave. I came knowing or not really knowing the full situation, but I have committed to the cause, and I feel like leaving halfway through would be difficult to leave the squad in that situation.”
“And I’m looking forward to the challenge of staying up. So hopefully that will be a really big reward in just the personal achievement at the end of the season. It’ll mean a lot to me if we can do it.”
He commented on the departures of his former teammates like Nelson Abbey and Tom McIntyre saying that it was sad to see them leave the club.
He shared: “Yeah, it’s never nice and it’s obviously not as nice considering the circumstances But like I said, we’re here as a team. It’s never good losing key players to a team and such big characters as well, which is a big thing.”
“However, I think we’ve got 3 months of the season left and we can’t really look back at that now. We still have a good squad and good players so I’m still positive that we can turn the situation around.”
Finally, Smith spoke about new signing Zane Monlouis after meeting him earlier this morning.
The striker said: “He is a positive signing and great for us considering the circumstances. I met and trained with him, and he looked very good. He’s a tall lad and a strong guy too. He’s confident as well and for his age that’s a credit to him. Hopefully he can be a big character to the group and another good professional through in the door.”
Reading face Oxford United this Saturday at the Kassam Stadium in what is a highly anticipated clash after the draw earlier in the season at the SCL Stadium.
