by Michael Baggaley
michael.baggaley@thesentinel.co.uk

STOKE City legend Denis Smith has given the thumbs up to the club’s new strip.

The centre-half colossus was at the Britannia Stadium to launch the kit yesterday, and was joined by fellow defender and Stoke hero George Berry.

Smith, who played almost 500 games for Stoke from 1968 to 1982, said the new kit was a world away from the shirts he wore in his playing days.

He said: “They are a lot more comfortable now because they are more lightweight and breathe better. Mind you, there’s not as much of them these days for a defender to grab hold of.

“The shirts I wore were heavier and, if you wanted short-sleeves, you had to roll them up.

“We didn’t throw our shirts into the crowd either. We only had one for the whole season, so if we gave it away it would be deducted from our salary.

“We did get the shirts washed for us, but we had to do the training kits ourselves.

“That only changed when I did a talk for Creda in the late 1970s and, in exchange, did a deal with them to let us have some washing machines at Stoke.

“Actually, it wasn’t really me who persuaded them. My wife Kate did the talking because she was the one who had to do my kit every time I brought it home.”

Smith, who still lives in North Staffordshire, said he’s looking forward to seeing thousands of Stoke tops, instead of Manchester United and Chelsea shirts around the Potteries.

He said: “Tony Pulis will tell you that there’s nothing worse than seeing rival teams’ shirts in your own area. Well, you just don’t see other teams’ tops around Stoke now. I only see the Stoke tops, mind you they are the only ones I’m looking for.

“Everyone knows I’m a Stoke fan and that never changed when I was managing other clubs.”
Smith says Stoke will stay up again next season, but doesn’t expect them to find life easy.

He added: “If they can do as well as they did last year, when they finished 12th, then I will be delighted. If they do even better, then I will be amazed.

“It will be tough and the supporters are going to be very important again.

“I work for the Premier League so see games at lots of different grounds, but the atmosphere at the Britannia Stadium was unique.”

Stoke’s new home shirts cost £34.99 for adults and £24.99 for juniors, and are available at club shops at the Britannia Stadium and in Hanley.

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