Smith set for another season at Tooting (From Your Local Guardian)

Smith set for another season at Tooting

10:25am Tuesday 12th May 2009 in

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Billy Smith admits the lure of guiding Tooting & Mitcham to Ryman Premier glory was too great a temptation to resist after the veteran boss agreed to extend his stay at Imperial Fields.

As the Comet reported two weeks ago, the 66-year-old was considering his future in the game having notched up over a quarter of a century on the sidelines.

But, having just returned from an end-of-season squad jaunt to Magaluf, Smith revealed it had not taken too long to make up his mind.

He said: “To be honest my head is telling me to stop but my heart is telling me to carry on, and I usually go with my heart on these things.

“We went off to Magaluf and it was a real bonding exercise.

“Everybody gets on so well and I thought ‘do I want to walk away from this?’ “So in the end it was quite an easy decision.”

The Terrors had an up-and-down campaign last season, finishing with a surge in form that lifted them to ninth in the table.

And Smith expects next season to be a tougher proposition.

He added: “Chances are we will have a much smaller squad this time around.

“Last year we went into pre-season with about 40 players, and we will probably have about half that amount this time around.

“I would expect one or two of the guys to leave, but we have not discussed anything yet.

“But my background is all about building teams, and we are building something good here.”

One thing Tooting fans may have to look forward to is an influx of young talent, with the club launching its Academy during the summer.

And, having groomed teenager Michail Antonio for a move to Reading last season, Smith admits he will have no problem giving youth a chance.

He added: “I’m looking forward to the academy starting as that is a big thing for us.

“If there are decent players in there I’m not scared to give them a go.

“But we cannot pin all our hopes on what will come from the Academy.

“We have the base of a good squad here, and we have to do our best to keep that squad together.”