Southampton vs Leicester City

Setting the tempo: Smallbone in possession against Norwich at St Mary’s
Hasenhüttl) saying to
me, ‘stay,’ because we
were changing shape
to three in midfield and
that helps me.
“But I remember I left
and then within three
or four games it had
changed back to the
other shape that didn’t
really suit me, so that
was definitely the best
decision I made.”
Smallbone will forever
be grateful to Stoke
City for “taking me in
when I needed it,” and
giving him a platform
to rediscover his
confidence that had
taken such a hit, on
and off the field, since
Leicester.
He went on to play 43
league games for the
Potters last season –
more than double his
16 « SAINTS « WE MARCH ON
Saints career tally – as
his consistency made
him a mainstay in the
side and earned him
his senior debut for
Republic of Ireland,
a game in which he
won the Player of the
Match award for his
performance in a 3-2
win over Latvia.
“The last 12 months has
been massive for me
in my development
as a player. I think
going on loan to Stoke
was massive for me
– I can’t thank them
enough for helping me
to develop,” he says,
quick to express his
gratitude.
“I really enjoyed
it. It was a good
experience, I think,
and it was different
because I was playing
every week and it was
a men’s environment,
so it was really good
from that aspect.
“Also living away from
home was something
new, something that
I really enjoyed. I’d
lived in digs, but never
actually away from
the south, but I think
it helped me to grow
up a lot. My girlfriend
came up with me, so
she made it easier for
me to settle in and not
worry about fending
for myself too much!
She does the cooking –
she’s good.
“It’s a tough league,
there’s a lot of games,
it’s very gruelling.
I found it’s quite
relentless. It’s Saturday,
Tuesday a lot of the
time, it’s a lot of grind
and a lot of teams with
different philosophies.