Sky Sports exclusive: Fulham's Tom Cairney and Millwall's Matt Smith joined Sky Sports to discuss friendship, the madness of the Championship and much, much more
Thursday 7 May 2020 11:35, UK
Tom Cairney and Matt Smith discussed a wide range of topics as Sky Sports joined Fulham and Millwall at home.
Jonathan Oakes and Gary Weaver spoke to the former team-mates about friendship, the madness of the Championship and much, much more.
Smith: It's going back a few years now but we had a really good time at Fulham. We had a really good dressing room and we lived right next to each other, so we just struck up a friendship and it's stayed close ever since, really. He's got new responsibilities now - he's got a baby boy - so, naturally, his afternoons are a bit busier, which is totally fair enough.
Cairney: We were roomies on away trips. That's key. When he left for QPR, I felt like I was cheating so I went on my own! It just didn't feel right. I was with Chris Martin for a bit but it just felt wrong so I said to the player liaison officer to put me in my own room. We've been lucky because Matt's stayed in London; sometimes I drive to where he lives and we have a coffee or we have a 'date' night every couple of weeks. I think it's important because you have a lot of team-mates in football and then as soon as you move clubs you don't really speak and I think that happens quite often.
Smith: A 3-0 away win at Forest, who were flying high, was such a great result for us that we would've gone into the Derby game really high on confidence. I think the confidence will have worn off by the time we get back playing but it was a brilliant night. Honestly, we played some brilliant stuff, which is testament to the form we've been showing.
I don't think Jayson Molumby even knew [his shot had crossed the line via a deflection from Smith] until after the game! We saw the video afterwards and it went viral but we were crying in the changing room because he'd given it a right go, hadn't he?! We'd had a team social not too long before that game and out of nowhere he pulled off this dance so we said, if he scored - which he hadn't done all season - he'd have to pull off the dance. Sure enough, within a week he does it. We enjoyed that.
Cairney: I was going mad in Bristol! I remember watching it on my iPad and I tagged him on my Instagram story when he got his hat-trick. It was a Friday night just before we played Bristol City in the lunchtime kick-off. I was in the physio room getting a massage and everyone was going mad.
Cairney: It's crazy, isn't it? Anyone can beat anyone in this division. Millwall, to be honest, have been brilliant all season and are tough to play. We played them a couple of months ago and it was a tough game, they started really well. The Championship is one of the best leagues to watch in the world. There's always the surprise factor; I think maybe Millwall have been that this season.
I don't think the bottom beats the top very often in the Premier League, if ever. It doesn't really happen as often in the Championship and you can't really call results in this league. A run of three or four wins can literally shoot you miles up the table. I think that's the biggest difference.
Smith: He was very enthusiastic - a willing runner! That's what I needed beside me, so we complemented each other very well. I don't think either of us would have thought, playing alongside each other, I'd go on to play professional football and he'd go on to become one of the biggest comics in the world. He's a really great lad and only lives around the corner in London, so I keep in contact with him. He's a great guy and he's doing tremendously well.