Alan Smith was overwhelmed by the ovation he was afforded by the Old Trafford faithful when he made his first appearance at Old Trafford since February in the Champions League win over FC Copenhagen.
Smith received a rousing reception when he entered the fray on the hour having fully recovered from the broken leg and dislocated ankle sustained in the FA Cup defeat at Anfield earlier in the year.
"The reception I got was incredible," a delighted Smith told MUTV after the game." When I first got injured people told me to keep my head down and work hard and I'd eventually get my rewards. The ovation from the fans was one of those rewards and it was well worth waiting for.
"I've still got a long way to go yet in terms of getting back to the player I was. But that [the appearance against Copenhagen] is one small step in the right direction.
"You always think you're ready before you are and I've been desperate to play over the last couple of weeks," he added. "I've had great people around me at the club making sure I didn't come back before I was ready and, although I'm not completely match fit yet, half an hour here and there will certainly help me."
Having spent the majority of last season in midfield, the soon-to-be 26-year-old reverted back to his former position up front against the Danes and should have scored when fellow substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer squared the ball into the area. Unfortunately for Smith he pulled his effort wide.
"I really should have scored," he admitted. "I said to Ole before we came on that one of us would score and both of us probably should have. Thankfully it didn't matter because we ran out worthy winners."
The 3-0 victory made it three wins out of three for United and kept them top of Group F, three points ahead of Gordon Strachan's Celtic side.
"We set out to win the group and we've got to make sure we do that," declared the striker. "We're in prime position now and if we win in Copenhagen it will the give the gaffer the chance to rest a few players in the last two games.
"We've made a good start to the season overall," he continued. "We had a little blip against Arsenal but we've shown good courage since then.
"Everyone's playing with so much belief and although we've got difficult games coming up, we're more than capable of winning them. If we can keep that attitude going we'll be a difficult team to beat this season."
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