Andy Smith

Return to England Smith returned to English professional football after he was signed by manager Craig Brown at Championship club Preston North End for an undisclosed fee (later reported to be £130,000 ) in July 2004; his international teammate David Healy recommended the club to Smith. He had been due to sign for Milton Keynes Dons when Preston hijacked the deal with a late bid to take him to Deepdale. He featured in 17 games for the "Lilywhites" in the 2004–05 season, without scoring a goal. He was loaned out to League One club Stockport County in November 2004, who were managed by his former Northern Ireland boss Sammy McIlroy; Preston manager Billy Davies said he hoped the move would boost Smith's confidence levels. However, he returned to Preston after playing just twice at Edgeley Park. He joined Scottish Premier League side Motherwell on loan in August 2005 and was described by manager Terry Butcher as "an enthusiastic type of player who always works his socks off". He played nine matches for the "Steelmen" during the 2005–06 without scoring a goal at Fir Park.

He joined Cheltenham Town on loan in November 2006, which saw Cheltenham fans pay his wages as the club were in financial difficulties. Manager John Ward said he was "really grateful to all the supporters who have come forward with the funds to make it happen". However, Smith made just three starts for the "Robins" before returning to Preston after three weeks after he refused to sit on the bench for an FA Cup first round replay at Scunthorpe United. Smith joined Gary Johnson's Bristol City on a two-month contract on 23 February 2007. He played 11 games in the remainder of the 2006–07 season, and left Ashton Gate after the "Robins" secured promotion into the Championship.

Later career Despite failing to score a single goal in competitive football during his three years in England and Scotland, Smith remained an in demand player in Northern Ireland due to his record in the Irish leagues and his international caps. He signed for Portadown in October 2007 after protracted negotiations due to his "excessive wage demands". He rejoined Portadown in February 2008, signing a contract running until the end of the 2009–10 season. However, he refused to report for training after Portadown were relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season, and Portadown manager Ronnie McFall refused to release him from his contract. Smith had a trial at League Two side Grimsby Town in July 2009.

In July 2009, he signed a two-year contract with Ballymena United. He was handed a six-match suspension after headbutting Newry City's Darren King on 3 December, which manager Roy Walker said was a "draconian punishment" for breaking an "outdated law" as "there was no contact between the players". He scored six goals in 27 league games during the 2009–10 season and hit one goal in 19 league games throughout the 2010–11 campaign. He had his contract cancelled by mutual consent in April 2011, with manager Roy Walker claiming that Smith was planning to head to Vietnam.

In August 2011, Smith signed for Belgian Third Division side Union Royale Namur. He left the club in February 2012. On 30 August 2012, he signed with Michael Hughes's Carrick Rangers but left the club the following day after accepting further trials with clubs in France and Belgium. After joining former club Glentoran on trial in July 2013 to keep his fitness up, he signed for Crusaders on 2 January 2014 until the end of the 2013–14 season. He was an unused substitute in the League Cup final defeat to Cliftonville. He scored one goal for Crusaders, in a 2–1 win over Crumlin Star in the Irish Cup, before being released at the end of the season.

International career Smith won a cap for the Northern Ireland B team in a game against Scotland Future in May 2003. He played well in the game, and as a result was called up to the full Northern Ireland squad by manager Sammy McIlroy to play against Italy on 3 June 2003. He continued to play in the Northern Ireland team under new manager Lawrie Sanchez. His final international appearance came in a 4–1 friendly defeat to Germany on 5 June 2005.

Coaching career Smith began his coaching career as an assistant to former Sheffield United teammate Bruno Ribeiro, and also played seven Campeonato Nacional de Seniores games whilst helping Ribeiro coach Moura AC in the 2014–15 season. He later joined Ribeiro at Pinhalnovense and Vitória Setúbal. He followed Ribeiro to Bulgarian Parva Liga side Ludogorets Razgrad in June 2015. Smith left the club when Ribeiro was sacked six weeks later. Smith later recalled how "mafia types with firework" tried to attack the pair of them in Bulgaria. He followed Ribeiro back to Portugal to assist him at Académico de Viseu in February 2016, before following him to Port Vale five months later. He departed Vale Park after Ribeiro resigned in December 2016.

Dubnica Smith signed a two-year contract to manage Slovak 2. Liga club Dubnica in summer 2022. He took charge for eight games – three wins, one draw and four losses – before leaving the club on 6 September.

Haka On 31 October 2023, he was appointed the new head coach of Finnish Veikkausliiga club Haka, on a two-year deal with an option to extend. In his first season managing in Veikkausliiga, he led Haka to surprisingly qualify for the top-6 championship group with one of the smaller budgets, and to ultimately finish sixth in the league. He also caused public attention with his outspoken and controversial comments. Smith also publicly criticized the refereeing on multiple occasions, and claimed that some matches were fixed against his team. He was sacked on 28 July 2025. He bemoaned that "we couldn't replace the players who had moved on, given the limited resources", but said he still "I loved every minute" of managing in Finland.

Personal life Smith has a distinctive appearance, and in October 2016 was described by The Times journalist Gregor Robertson as "wild-eyed, heavily tattooed, flame-haired and bearded".

Career statistics

Club

Managerial statistics

Irish League Cup: 2003 Irish Cup: 2004; runner-up: 2003

Bristol City League One second-place promotion: 2006–07

Crusaders Irish League Cup runner-up: 2014