Sheffield United v Newcastle United
Smith claims the mauling by Leyton Orient proved to be the final straw for the senior stars, who called a meeting to tell the wantaway players that they were no longer wanted.
The likes of Obafemi Martins, Habib Beye, Sebastien Bassong and Damien Duff were sold in the summer and Michael Owen left on a free.
The transformation in fortunes has been remarkable as Newcastle are flying high in the Championship and Smith claims there is tremendous unity in the squad.
"We came back in the summer and no-one knew what was going on in terms of could players be sold," Smith told the Daily Mirror. "Certain players were making it clear they wanted to leave but the club said no-one was going to be sold. That was the most difficult time.
"We went to Leyton Orient and it was a disaster. But everything came to a head. It was clear that five or six of the players wanted to leave, which was fair enough. We had a meeting when we came back from the game - just us players.
"We said whoever wants to leave, they can leave, and we'll help them to go. Whoever wants to stay then commit yourself to stay. That's where we are now. That was a massive turning point. In a way getting that bad result was the best thing that could have happened. It was what needed to happen.
The likes of Obafemi Martins, Habib Beye, Sebastien Bassong and Damien Duff were sold in the summer and Michael Owen left on a free.
The transformation in fortunes has been remarkable as Newcastle are flying high in the Championship and Smith claims there is tremendous unity in the squad.
"We came back in the summer and no-one knew what was going on in terms of could players be sold," Smith told the Daily Mirror. "Certain players were making it clear they wanted to leave but the club said no-one was going to be sold. That was the most difficult time.
"We went to Leyton Orient and it was a disaster. But everything came to a head. It was clear that five or six of the players wanted to leave, which was fair enough. We had a meeting when we came back from the game - just us players.
"We said whoever wants to leave, they can leave, and we'll help them to go. Whoever wants to stay then commit yourself to stay. That's where we are now. That was a massive turning point. In a way getting that bad result was the best thing that could have happened. It was what needed to happen.
