Chris Smalling's gradual improvement has taken him to the top of the game

Manchester United and England defender Chris Smalling is in the form of his life. His route to the top is a story of hard work and improvement. Adam Bate talks to his old boss at non-league Maidstone and gets the view of an old Fulham team-mate as we examine his remarkable journey…

The repetition of Louis van Gaal's training sessions aren't for everyone. Reports emerged in September suggesting Manchester United's players were 'bored' by them. Chris Smalling, the £10m man, already had four seasons at Old Trafford behind him when Van Gaal arrived but he is unlikely to have been among the critics. Smalling is still learning. And that's his great strength.

Louis van Gaal has helped Smalling to improve on the training ground

"We work hard and tirelessly on the training ground with our tactics," Smalling recently told Sky Sports. "We do 11 versus 11 a lot so we know our positions and our roles. Every player knows what he wants and what he expects of you on the pitch. It's very clear to us as players what we need to be doing. All the coaches I've worked with, especially Louis van Gaal, have helped me."

Smalling's improvement has been one of the success stories of the Dutchman's time in charge at United. Injuries and errors marked his early years at the club and even last season there was a foolish red card in the derby against Manchester City. But he has since emerged as a key figure, with Wayne Rooney rating him among the top three defenders in the world last month.

Smalling had much to learn at Maidstone United (Credit: Steve Terrell)

Some might regard that as an astonishing claim but there's nobody more surprised than Alan Walker. He's the man who gave Smalling his debut at non-league Maidstone in the Kent Senior Cup in 2007. The youngster had left Millwall and gone the best part of a year without playing the game as he focused on his studies and steeled himself for a career in who knows what.

"He got the hump and packed it in," Walker tells Sky Sports. "But he came and played in our reserves. The guys were telling me he was doing well so I went to watch him a couple of times. We stuck him in and he didn't let us down. But we'd never have dreamed that the boy would achieve what he has achieved. He was promising but he wasn't that good.

Smalling in action for Maidstone United against Ramsgate (Credit: Steve Terrell)

"It was his sheer athleticism - his height and his power - that drove him on. He was always an extremely good athlete. He could run like the wind and go all day. He was brilliant at that. But in terms of his technical ability, especially his heading, he was poor. He needed an awful lot of work on his passing as well."

Fortunately for Smalling - one of those rare England internationals who had a job as a waiter in his youth - work has never been a problem. "He was a smashing lad and very unassuming," said Walker. "He did exactly what you told him to do. If you told him to mark someone or find space or whatever, he'd do exactly what I wanted as a gaffer. The boy's temperament is fantastic."

Smalling's heading was a weakness in his Maidstone days (Credit: Steve Terrell)

As a result, he got better. Lots better. Ironically given his preference for the centre-back role at United, Smalling found success at right-back for Maidstone. "We switched him and he was unbelievable there. The runs he was making getting forward were amazing," recalls Walker. He was man of the match most weeks. And Fulham soon came calling. His hunger was rewarded.

"Knowing lots of non-league players, I think what happens is that the lads who've come through that route have been at the bottom of the pile," said Walker. "They appreciate what they've got. Chris saw what it was like playing part-time football and then he got a taste of the big time with Fulham in the Premier League and thought 'this is for me'. Obviously, I'm delighted for the boy.

Smalling playing against East Thurrock United (Credit: Steve Terrell)

"All credit to him for the way he's worked. Nobody has done more to help him than himself with the sheer hard work he has put in. When I spoke to Billy McKinlay, who was at Fulham at the time, he told me that he'd never seen any young lad work so hard at improving his game. He just worked and worked and worked to improve."

Paul Konchesky was among that Fulham squad, an establishing Premier League defender and England international. He remembers the arrival of a youngster with lots to learn. "He played a few games in the first team at Fulham with myself and he made a few mistakes, to be honest," he tells Sky Sports. "From where he was at Fulham, I've definitely been surprised.

Smalling still had work to do to improve his heading even at Fulham

"But he was just a young lad. He hadn't even played at Conference level. So it was always going to be a tough ask for him." Once again, the catalyst for the alchemy that would turn Smalling into a star was simple. Hard graft. "He was really quiet having come from where he'd come from, but he wanted to learn. He always stayed behind to do extra training on the things he needed to work on."

Konchesky credits Roy Hodgson's methods for aiding Smalling's development too. The England boss is another coach who insists on relentless work on shape and position that others might find dull but, for Smalling, was absolutely crucial. "I think it was down to the capabilities of the coach at the time," adds Konchesky. "The manager stuck by him. Roy knew he had something.

Paul Konchesky believes Roy Hodgson deserves credit for Smalling's improvement

"People say you learn by your mistakes and he obviously has. He's got better at the things he wasn't good at. He was always an athlete. He could run and he's a big, strong lad. His pace used to get him out of trouble but he's worked at his defending, his passing and his heading. It's obvious how hard that he has worked from those days to get where he is now. All credit to him, he's fully deserved it."

Chris Smalling's improved passing Season Club Inaccurate short passes (per 90) 2013/14 Manchester United 5.4 2014/15 Manchester United 3.2 2015/16 Manchester United 2.7

Finally, Smalling is getting there and the statistics highlight his progress. In his first season at United, he was misplacing 6.8 short passes every 90 minutes. By 2013/14, it was 5.4 passes. Last season, only 3.2 passes were going astray. So far this season, only 2.7 such passes are failing to find a team-mate. As for his heading, no central defender at a top-four club has won more aerial duels.

Practice makes perfect and Sir Alex Ferguson's faith is being rewarded. It was the Scot who brought Smalling to Old Trafford, recognising a player who "likes defending" and a "young guy who would mature into his frame". Interestingly, Ferguson has also spoken of how he would have put Smalling "right on top of Messi" if he'd ever had another crack at Barcelona in a Champions League final.

The legendary United boss saw some of Nemanja Vidic's qualities in the young man. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, the vacuum of top-class English centre-backs once occupied by the likes of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Jamie Carragher looks like it could be filled. The prospect of Smalling eventually partnering John Stones in England's defence now brings with it more hopes than fears.

You can see he's becoming more of a leader, more vocal. Jamie Carragher

Carragher himself has seen signs that Smalling is ready to embrace his status as the senior man. "You can see he's becoming more of a leader, more vocal," he told Sky Sports in April. "He seems to be the one pushing out of defence and giving instructions to different people, and that can only help his own confidence with a bit of maturity as he gets older and starts taking on more responsibility."

While Gary Neville once talked of the need for "the penny to drop" with the likes of Smalling and Phil Jones if they are to fulfil their potential, it seems there has been no great epiphany. Instead, it's been a gradual improvement for a player whose journey began at Maidstone all those years ago. Smalling credits all of his coaches. And for Walker, his success is a source of pride.

Smalling has now been earmarked as a potential Manchester United captain

"I'm proud to be able to say that he played for me," he says. "If I had any influence on him one bit, I don't know but he was a pleasure to work with. And what a defender he is now. His heading is amazing. He's improved immensely in the air. As an out-and-out defender, I don't see anyone better in the Premier League. His reading of the game and his one-to-one stuff is brilliant."

Ever the coach, all this praise has to come with a caveat. "He still struggles with the ball though," adds Walker after the briefest of pauses. "If someone rushes him he's okay but when he's got too much time to think about it he's not the best passer." Somehow, you just know that Chris Smalling will find a way to figure that out.