Andy Smith (footballer, born 1980)
Andrew William Smith (born 25 September 1980) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer and coach who is now the manager of Finnish Veikkausliiga club Haka.Smith returned to Northern Ireland on a permanent basis when he signed with Glentoran in February 2002, and scored two goals in ten league games in the remainder of the 2001–02 campaign.[7] The "Glens" could have won a quadruple, but lost 1–0 Coleraine in the final of the Irish Cup after a shot from Jody Tolan deflected off Smith into the net.[9] He helped Glentoran to win the Irish Cup in his final appearance for the club, as they beat Coleraine 1–0 to avenge their defeat the previous year.He joined Scottish Premier League side Motherwell on loan in August 2005 and was described by manager Terry Butcher as "an enthusiastic type of player who always works his socks off".[17] However, Smith made just three starts for the "Robins" before returning to Preston after three weeks after he refused to sit on the bench for an FA Cup first round replay at Scunthorpe United.Despite failing to score a single goal in competitive football during his three years in England and Scotland, Smith remained an in demand player in Northern Ireland due to his record in the Irish leagues and his international caps.[25] He was handed a six-match suspension after headbutting Newry City's Darren King on 3 December, which manager Roy Walker said was a "draconian punishment" for breaking an "outdated law" as "there was no contact between the players".He had his contract cancelled by mutual consent in April 2011, with manager Roy Walker claiming that Smith was planning to head to Vietnam.[47] In his first season managing in Veikkausliiga, he led Haka to suprisingly qualify for the top-6 championship group with one of the smaller budgets, and to ultimately finish 6th in the league.[50][51] Smith has a distinctive appearance, and in October 2016 was described by The Times journalist Gregor Robertson as "wild-eyed, heavily tattooed, flame-haired and bearded".