Smith: I have no regrets at Toon move

He thought it would be another opportunity to fight for the man who needed just an hour to persuade him to leave Old Trafford for Newcastle.

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'He needs time,' said Smith in midweek, just hours before Allardyce's shock departure.

But the former manager's absence will only slightly tarnish Smith's re-appearance at United, where he is looking forward to 'rattling a few cages' and saying the farewells he did not have time for in the summer.

He did not even say goodbye to manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

'The bid came in on the Tuesday morning and I signed on the Tuesday night,' said Smith, who turned down Middlesbrough and Everton to move to Tyneside. 'The gaffer said it was the quickest transfer ever done.'

Smith could have stayed within the comfort zone of the United squad, playing around 20 games a season, travelling across Europe to top up his Champions League appearances and no doubt picking a medal or two along the way.

But the former Leeds striker wanted more, coming to the conclusion he just wanted to play regularly at a time when he was at his lowest ebb and staring premature retirement in the face.

Smith was out for more than a year after breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle. Although he had the best treatment and rehabilitation on offer at United, he knew he would have to quit the club to be truly satisfied.

He said: 'This time last year it was still in the balance whether I'd play again, so to be going back as Newcastle captain is something I'd dared not dream about.

'It would have been easier to stay there as I had two-and-ahalf years left on my contract and I was getting good money. But this career doesn't last forever. I don't know how much satisfaction I would have got from that.

'The challenge of playing week in, week out and testing yourself is what this life's all about.

'When I broke my leg I thought to myself that, if I ever did get back fit, I wanted to be playing regularly. I missed 13 months and when you're not playing you realise what you're missing. As soon as I did it, deep down, I knew I needed to be playing.'

Smith was ostracised by Leeds fans for crossing the Pennine divide to join United in May 2004, but he insists he has no regrets about his time there. If any player can handle criticism from Newcastle fans, it is Smith, the man handed the captain's armband before Allardyce's departure.

Asked if it was worth the stick from Leeds fans, Smith was typically forthright.

'Yes,' he said. 'I've got a Premiership winner's medal. I had an experience you wouldn't get at any other club. When the chance arises to go there it's difficult to turn it down. I enjoyed every minute, other than the moment at Anfield when I broke my leg.

'I was fortunate at Leeds. I was there when we were in Europe and also when we were relegated, so I've been at both ends of the scale and for a young lad, as I was then, that keeps you in good stead.

' Everyone knows how passionate the fans are here. When you drive down the street, everyone's got a Newcastle shirt on. That's what it's all about and I wouldn't change that for the world.

'People might be having a go when you're not playing well but there's no better place to be than on a football field when they're all behind you. Would I rather have unpleasantness than boredom? Of course.

Nobody wants boredom, do they? I'd rather have 52,000 people having a go at you than having empty seats.'