They have the meanest defence in the A-League and the Gold Coast have now added to some goal-scoring firepower to their ranks after securing New Zealand international Shane Smeltz for the rest of the season.
Smeltz, who was the A-League’s leading scorer last season with 19 goals, has gained a release from Turkish club Genclerbirligi and is a major acquisition for the fourth-placed United ahead of their finals push.
The 29-year-old will start training with the club immediately and could be called upon for the club’s crucial clash with North Queensland on Friday night.
“I’m delighted to be back – really happy. I’ve always loved the Hyundai A-League since it started and obviously I haven’t played as much football as I would have liked in the last five or six months, so I’m just really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things,” Smeltz said on Monday.
“My immediate focus is to try to help out Gold Coast United’s situation. I’ve been following them all season and the team has done well so far but has suffered a bit of a dip recently.”
“Hopefully I can contribute and help everything to start flowing again towards the finals. On a personal level, I just want to get back playing and enjoy myself on the park.”
Smeltz gave a brief insight into his time in Turkey where sweeping changes to key senior staff soon after his arrival changed the landscape for the striker who was a New Zealand hero during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
After starring for the Kiwis at the World Cup in South Africa, Smeltz was excited about trying his luck in Europe but said things simply just didn’t work out for him.
“It’s complicated over there and in the course of my first five or six weeks in Turkey there were a lot of changes at the club,” he said.
“They got a new coach, a new assistant coach and a new general manager who all brought with them their differing opinions. It happens all over the world in football and is nothing new, but the result was that I was sidelined more than I wanted to be. “
“I spoke to the club about it and they agreed to release me, so I’m very happy with that outcome and feel relieved that I will playing again soon.”
“These things happen in football and you have to go with it. The only thing to do now is to move forward and get on with helping Gold Coast United the best I can.”
United Miron Bleiberg said Smeltz’s signature could just be the spark his side needs in their quest to secure second place on the ladder over the last eight games of the regular season.
“It’s great to have Shane back with us and he’s come exactly at the right time as our recent results haven’t been the best,” Bleiberg said.
“We’re obviously very happy to sign a proven goalscorer at this point in the campaign and hopefully he can help us achieve what we want to achieve this season.
Meanwhile the club have received some disappointing news with midfielder Robson likely to miss the rest of the season with a torn hamstring.
The Brazilian picked up the injury in Saturday-s 2-0 loss to Sydney FC, limping off in the first half.
