Dom Smith excited for potential AFC Telford bow

The 22-year-old defender is set to make his Bucks debut at Southport tonight.

He left Salop at the end of last week, having joined them aged seven before progressing through the club’s youth ranks.

“Being at Shrewsbury for all my life, it was a big thing for me to go,” said Shrewsbury-born Smith.

“I’ll miss it but it’s the right time for me to go out, for my career, and start playing football regularly.

“I’ve come out to play games, and it’s about the team.

“It’s a good bunch of lads here and we know exactly what is expected of us. There’s a lot of good players here.

“We’ve got a few games in hand still and feel we can get the results to push up the table – that’s the aim.”

Smith broke into the Shrewsbury first team under Micky Mellon, but fell out of favour under Paul Hurst. He made 31 appearances for Salop.

Telford boss Rob Edwards is delighted to have got Smith in until the end of the campaign, alluding to his non-league know-how following spells on loan at Tamworth, Barrow and Southport.

“He is a really good lad, has good experience at this level and at a higher level as well,” said Edwards.

“He’s local as well, ticks a lot of boxes.

“We were disappointed to lose a defender in Niall (Maher, to Halifax) so we were looking for a replacement, and we managed to get Dom in and we’re delighted.”

Edwards was also keen to praise Smith’s attitude, for jumping at the deep end to try to help the Bucks escape the drop in National League North.

They are currently third bottom – three points from safety.

“That’s why we brought him, his attitude as well as his quality,” added Edwards.

“He wants to come out and play, put himself in the shop window and, in turn, help the team.

“That’s exactly what we want, players who are hungry and want to do well.

“He’s got a very good attitude and I know that he’ll continue to have that throughout his time here. He’s made of the right stuff.”