Former Bristol Rovers centurion returns to the west after signing a one-year contract with Yeovil Town.
Northern Ireland international with 19 caps spent three years at Bristol Rovers.
Former Bristol Rovers right-back Michael Smith has signed a one-year contract with Yeovil Town in the National League South.
The 19-cap Northern Ireland international, who has a goal against Germany on his CV, had been out of contract for two months after departing Scottish Premiership club Hearts at the end of his contract earlier this summer.
Smith, who turned 35 earlier this month, was awarded Rovers’ player of the season twice and appeared in 114 games for the Gas from 2011 to 2014. All three of his seasons at the Mem were spent in League Two, with the centurion’s final season at the club resulting in relegation from the Football League before joining League One side Peterborough United.
Earlier this summer, the former Ballymena Town man went on trial with Rovers’ League One opponents Cheltenham Town, for whom he played against the Gas’ city rivals Bristol City.
Cheltenham manager Wade Elliott told Gloucestershire Live: “Michael is local and was looking for somewhere to come in a train and it fit in with us.” To be honest, for someone who hasn’t played any minutes, I felt he handled himself admirably.”
Now, the veteran is back in football, albeit in a lower tier, with Yeovil Town, who had suffered a catastrophic decline in recent years.
The Glovers were in the Championship as recently as 2014, but back-to-back relegations sent them to League Two, followed by relegations to the National League in 2019 and the National League South last season.
Smith stated, “Coming in here, it felt like a good opportunity to create something, and help the team get promoted this year.”
Yeovil Town, who are aiming for an immediate return to the fifth division, have had a good start to the season under manager Mark Cooper, sitting sixth after nine games.
