3/1 To Win
Korey Smith admitted he turned down opportunities elsewhere as he ‘went with his gut’ and joined Derby County on a two-year deal over the weekend.
The 31-year-old, who joined the Rams as a free agent after leaving Championship side Swansea City, revealed he had received offers from Championship clubs but felt the lure of achieving something special with Derby was too good to turn down.
Smith has played over 250 times in the Championship and brings with him a wealth of experience to Pride Park Stadium as the Rams prepare for life in the third tier of English football for the first time since 1986.
He spoke to RamsTV about being part of the rebuild process at the club, playing in League One and how former players influenced his decision to join Derby.
On Joining Derby County…
It is brilliant to be here. I’ve been speaking to the club for a while, pretty much as soon as my contract ended at Swansea. Derby were in contact and showing a real interest the day after, so I liked that. I liked that they wanted me from early on in the summer and I spoke to Liam Rosenior a few times and my gut was always pulling me towards Derby. I spoke with a few teams, I had some offers from Championship teams, but my gut was telling me that there was a chance to do something special here and that was exciting for me.
On Being Part Of The Rebuild…
I have played against Derby many times. The fans are brilliant, the stadium is brilliant and I have spoken to people who have played here to get a feel for it. They all said how much of a great time they had here and how much they loved it. I saw last year how much the club pulled together in the hard time and I felt like for me, at my age, where I am in my career, I wanted to do something special and try to bring this club back to the Championship.
On Watching Last Season From Afar…
I don’t know what other clubs did but I always kept a little close eye on Derby. I played at Pride Park in October last season with Swansea and the club was going through hard times but it seemed like the fans were really behind the players. I’ve played here many times and it seems like an amazing place to be and everyone knows how big the club is.
On Playing In League One…
I had to have the conversations with other clubs. I had offers on the table but after giving it some time and weighing up everything, but there was something pulling me towards Derby. I spoke with my wife, close friends and everyone was telling me that it was something for me with the way I am and my character. I’ve played a lot of games in the Championship so I don’t feel like I need to be one of those guys who stayed in that division. I wanted to be part of a project with a club who is trying to do something and rebuild. If I can help in any way I can in the couple of years that I am here, then I’d like to get it back to the Championship at least.
I’m lucky enough to have had three promotions in my career and some players never have any. My favourite seasons have been ones where the team I have been playing for has been promoted and I would love to do that at Derby County. There are a lot of players with that experience in the dressing room so that will hopefully help us over the next season.
On Players He Knows In The Dressing Room…
A lot of us have been around the game a fair bit so we have played against each other at times. Conor Hourihane and I were at Swansea City together and I know him from a few years back when we went to Las Vegas with mutual friends. I was at a wedding in the summer with James Chester so me and my wife actually got to know him and his wife, and we spent three days together. James Collins I know as well and I spoke to him and there are other guys in the dressing room who I know through mutual friends. I had some conversations with those guys before I joined. We have all been talking a bit behind-the-scenes so some of the experience and achievements of the guys in the changing room now is amazing to be part of that. I’m 31 but I’m always looking to learn and there are people in there that have played in a higher level than me and done more so I will be looking at them and looking to learn from them.
