Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has expressed his delight at representing the club as stand-in captain in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
The 25-year-old donned the armband with Wayne Rooney ruled out through injury, but felt the visitor’s late equaliser left a sour taste to a “proud day”.
Louis van Gaal’s side looked set to steal all three points in the top four battle after Ander Herrera’s pin-point volley handed his side before the lead, until an unfortunate deflection from Tyler Blackett saw substitute goalkeeper Victor Valdes beaten by Theo Walcott’s cross.
Smalling, who joined from Fulham in 2010, felt his side were the better team, but were at fault for the late equaliser which means fourth is almost guaranteed.
“I think for 60 or 70 minutes we were the better team, but then we really needed to see out the game,” he said. “We were a bit too open and paid the price, albeit with another deflected goal – something that’s gone against us recently.
“In these games you need to get that second goal and unfortunately we didn’t, and paid the price at the end. All the lads have come in and it’s almost as though we’ve lost the game. We’ve still got another game and then we’ll look back and say we have performed against the bigger teams. It can only look good for next season, when hopefully we’ll be more consistent.”
When asking about being handed the hour of wearing the captain’s armband as Rooney watched on from the sidelines with his son, Kai, he added: “It was a big honour. When the manager told me the night before, it was always going to be one to look forward to. If we had got the win it would have been a lot nicer to savour, but it was still a proud day for me.
“This season, some of us have had to step forward, especially with some of the older players leaving, so it’s nice that it’s being recognised. I think my game has progressed well, in that we’ve done a lot of work on the field, and have been given a lot of responsibility going forward as a unit. Each week we’re improving and everyone is feeling that togetherness.”
The England international also praised supporters for their constant support, which was recently admired by van Gaal after his debut season in charge at Old Trafford. Smalling now hopes they can reward the fans with silverware next seeing.
“It’s not a season when we’re massively celebrating, it’s a step,” he said. “Next season we know that won’t be good enough. But our fans at the end were terrific. Hopefully next season we’ll be having a parade with something to really cheer about.
“As the season’s gone on, we’ve got better, but Chelsea’s consistency from day one has won them the title. Sometimes they didn’t play well and still won games. They saw off games like Sunday’s; they might have won it 1-0. Next season, it’s a case of starting on the front foot and keeping that consistency.
“It will be tough against Hull. They’ve got a lot to play for but we’ll want to finish the season on a high. We want to make sure we go out with a win.”
Veteran midfielder Michael Carrick praised the stand-in captain after his noble performance, and believes the managers decision was justified following a consistent 90 minutes from the central defender.
“I think he’ll take to it well,” Carrick suggested. “He’s developed an unbelievable amount over the last few months. He’s really become more vocal on the pitch and he’s a bit of a leader in the back four. Maybe that’s due to the added responsibility and experience.
“He’s not classed as a youngster any more – the potential people talk about in youngsters, you’ve got to live up to that. He’s come on so much, and that’s resulted in him being named captain.”
Chris Smalling has scored four goals in 24 league appearances for United this season.
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