Gary SMITH

Gary Smith signed for Stade Rennais in July 1996. This central defender arrived in the company of another Scot, striker Johnston, shortly after the unconvincing trial for Mijalkovic. After being undisputed first-choice at Aberdeen for five seasons, Smith was up against Denis, Papura and Lassissi in Brittany. Given his home debut just a few days after his arrival against Swedish side Örgryte in the Intertoto Cup (1-1), he made his full league debut in the First Division against Bordeaux (1-1). Smith showed quality with his heading game, and in the tackle to compensate for his lack of pace and positional sense. At the heart of a three-man defence in an innovative 5-3-2 formation, set up by Colleu, the Scot played 6 matches in a row. But as of the 10th matchday, Colleu reverted to a 4-4-2 formation at the expense of Smith, who left the starting line-up. After covering on a couple of occasions for the absence of Denis or Papura, Smith returned to Aberdeen in July 1997.