A player with a famous name wants to earn plaudits on his own merits rather than being mentioned compared to his more illustrious namesakes. Gordon Smith would love to be named in Paulo Sergio starting lime-up against St Mirren tomorrow. The young striker thought he had made it back in 2010, as he volleyed home a stunning strike on his first league appearance, ensuring another Edinburgh derby ended in a 1-1. However,that proved to be a false dawn as this remains the only goal in maroon in the young striker's career. He has been among the goals while out on loan last season with Stirling Albion, scoring 11 goals for Jocky Scott's relegated Bino's. Now, back at Hearts, and with a contract extension until 2014 safely secured, Smith has set his sights on scoring for the first team and nabbing a regular starting place.
He said: "I'm not just here to make up the numbers. I've been on the bench recently, but I'm looking to push the strikers here - Stephen Elliott, Ryan Stevenson, John Sutton. I'm working hard, trying to impress in training, and hoping to get a start. The manager has told me that I need to believe in myself and show every time we train that I want to play. He is trying to get the ball down and get the midfield forward to support. I think this suits me because I like to play on the ground."
Signs certainly seem promising for the former Livingston striker. New manager Sergio gave his the thankless task of lone striker for the trip to face Tottenham in the Europa League. With a 5-0 reverse to overcome, it was a tall order but Smith lashed a shot against the bar as he gave England defender Michael Dawson plenty to think about. The former Scotland under-17 striker was delighted to be given such an opportunity, and clearly believes it is just the beginning of what he can learn from his new continental coach. Smith went on: "It was a brilliant experience for me. Playing against top players like Michael Dawson is great for me. Plus I thought the team did really well that night. Personally, I thought I played well on the night, so that's a bonus. I've worked with a couple of foreign coaches, and the training under Paulo (Sergio) has been different from under Jim (Jefferies) but the boys have adapted really well and enjoying it. There's been a lot of work about shape and the coach is trying to drill it in to our heads what movements we should make. He talks to everyone personally after training and tells us how our movement can improve and things like that. His man management is great and it's good for me as a young player."