AlanSmith made his stunning move to stadiummk as he had already been blown away by the Dons’ brand of stylish, attractive football.
The former Manchester United and England star has signed on-loan from Newcastle for the rest of the season in a move which has surprised many in the game.
Capturing his signature is a huge boost for the Dons’ hopes of promotion to the Championship and a major coup for manager Karl Robinson.
Smith, still a household name, did have offers to play at a higher level but he was lured by his new manager’s footballing philosophy.
If things go well the switch could even become a permanent one in the summer.
“You have feelings about places sometimes,” Smith said when he was unveiled by the club onMonday.
“The chairman and manager have a special feeling for this football club and when myself and my agent came down we both got that feeling as well.
“I’ve seen MK Dons play a few times this season and I’ve been very impressed with how Karl’s teams set-up and how they play football, especially against QPR.
“It’s a football club which is building for the future and it was a decision which was so easy to make.
“As soon as you get belief about a place it’s difficult to walk away, so fingers crossed that if things go well and we do get promoted something long term can happen.”
Smith’s career has been plagued by injuries and he has barely featured for Newcastle this season – but he said that he is match-sharp and ready to play for the club in either midfield or up front.
Dons will pay just a fraction of Smith’s weekly wages for the duration of the loan spell and going up is his target.
“The club have established a team which probably needs to get out of this league to keep a lot of their players, because they are very good players,” Smith said.
“A little bit of experience just to get us over the line is probably what is needed, to dig in at the right times.
“This club has the potential, with or without me here, to get promoted this season. Looking beyond that you’ve seen how well the likes of Southampton, Brighton andSwansea have done once they went up, all trying to play football in the right way.”
Robinson had pledged to bring a ‘marquee signing’ to the club and is delighted to have got his man, who he believes is still Premier League quality. Thirty-one-year-old Smith is the biggest name player to ever wear the Dons shirt.
“He’ll fit into the team in a number of different ways and add to the quality of the squad,” the manager said.
“It shows we’re ambitious. I did say about a marquee signing and people laughed, but we have produced.”
