Socceroos wing-back Brad Smith says he’s not concerned by criticism of his performance against Japan

THICK-SKINNED Brad Smith declared that criticism of his Japan performance has not affected him.

Japan's Takuma Asano gets away from Australia’s Brad Smith during their World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.

THICK-SKINNED Brad Smith declared that criticism of his Japan performance has not affected him.

The Bournemouth player has been a whipping boy for the 2-0 loss, with Japanese opponent Takuma Asano — on loan from Arsenal to VfB Stuttgart — slipping Smith and Australia’s high line to delicately stroke home the opener.

Norway-based Alex Gersbach, who impressed after replacing injured Smith for last June’s Confederations Cup, is competing with Smith for a spot on the left flank.

Smith admitted he had heard some of the backlash but remained unfazed.

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“It’s not nice to be involved in the goal but there’s a lot of aspects that go into a goal. I’m not going to stand here and blame people,’’ Smith said.

Japan's Takuma Asano gets away from Australia’s Brad Smith during their World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.

“But it’s something we’ve got to look at and I’ve got to look at personally and work out what I could’ve done better.

“I’ve seen (some of the criticism). It gets to other people more than it gets to me, people in my family and stuff have seen it.

“But it doesn’t really affect me, I just get on with my football and make sure I improve and it’s better for the next game.

“It is a tough role to play, you’ve got to go up and back. I think we’ve got to get to grips with how everyone works and the movement of everyone.”

Smith was confident that the Socceroos would regroup at home to Thailand in front of a packed AAMI Park crowd on Tuesday.

“The Japanese affected our formation well. I think on Tuesday we’ll be really effective against the Thais,’’ he said.

“It’s got to be effective against everyone, that’s the formation we want to play and it’s what we’ve got to stick by and work hard each day to make it the best formation we can play. We’ve got to keep working and see where it takes us.

“We go to these away games where the crowds are really good on their part so we need all the support we can get and make sure everyone’s loud and proud and I think that will get us through and get us a few goals and get us to the World Cup.’’

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Originally published as Socceroos wing-back Brad Smith says he’s not concerned by criticism of his performance against Japan