Smith desperate to make up for lost time at Bournemouth

Bournemouth defender Brad Smith has insisted he’s ready to take advantage of a busy December schedule and add to his first start of the season.

The Australian international started Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Arsenal, his first since his £3 million switch from Liverpool in July.

Though it has taken a while for the 22-year-old to adapt to life on the coast, he has been busy jetting back and forth – having played five games for his country since September 1.

 (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

And Smith is ready to put a marker down back in England with the Cherries after a promising outing against Arsenal.

“I’ve played a few games with the Australia national side, so I feel like I’m on top of my fitness. That certainly helped coming into the team at Arsenal,” he said.

“The squad is growing and developing with every game.

“It was a difficult game but I thought we were right in it. It was a strong performance and we created a lot of chances but it just didn’t go for us.

“When you come into the squad for the first time it’s quite difficult, but we’ve all shown we can fit in and adapt.

“It’s easier coming into a back four like ours. We’ve been working different line-ups each week in training and working on where we can all improve.”