Sammie Szmodics admits his move to Bristol City came too soon for him in his career as he doesn’t think he was ready to flourish in the Championship, as has emphatically been the case with Blackburn Rovers this season.
Szmodics is the leading goalscorer in the second tier with 24 in 41 games, while his 30 in all competitions makes him the first Blackburn player to hit that mark since Alan Shearer in 1995/96. It’s comprehensively been a career year for the 28-year-old whose previous best haul was 16 for Peterborough United in 2020/21, and a far cry from his challenging spell at Ashton Gate almost five years ago.
Szmodics was signed as a 22-year-old on a free transfer from League Two Colchester United, in his first move away from his hometown club, but struggled to make an impression under Lee Johnson as, despite a positive pre-season, he appeared just three times for the Robins in the Championship, and only once as a starter, before being loaned to Peterborough United in League One in January.
Speaking to the EFL Podcast, Szmodics admits the jump from League Two into the Championship was too great and he needed the time in the third tier at London Road, where he earned promotion in 2021 after being sold for £1m, to then work his way back up the pyramid.
“I went to Bristol City as a 22-year-old from Colchester and I probably wasn’t ready to move away from home,” Szmodics said. “I wasn't ready and I wasn’t physical enough and I probably wasn’t good enough at that point to play in the Championship.
“So I remember going to Peterborough, dropping down a league which I know a lot of people wouldn’t do, they’d be happy just to stay at Bristol because you’re at a Championship team but I felt it was right for me to drop down, to sort of work myself up. It’s like going from League One to the Premier League, it would be a big jump, and going from League Two to the Champ was a big jump for me.
“I felt I should have been given more of an opportunity (at City) but I found it tough. I dropped down to Peterborough in League One, showed my worth there, and got into the Championship with them, but had a tough time.
“Moving to Blackburn, I felt like I had a point to prove. People were questioning, ‘are you good enough at this level?’ The first six months I found it tough with Jon Dahl Tomasson as the way he played was really different to how I had played, but once you understood how he wanted to do, he made the game so easy. I finished last season really strongly and I’ve just taken that confidence into this year.”
Szmodics also hinted at a lack of confidence and self-belief in his settings in the West Country as, in reference to a discussion around his future as his output this term has understandably led to transfer rumours and interest elsewhere, he indicates he was a little overawed by the level of competition in the 2019/20 City squad.
In what proved Johnson’s final season at the club he had Andi Weimann as a second striker or wide forward, with Jamie Paterson and Kasey Palmer in advanced midfield positions, all areas of the pitch where Szmodics tends to play, and has subsequently shone for Blackburn.
“You want to be out of your comfort zone, you always want to be challenging (yourself),” Szmodics added. “I remember signing for Bristol City thinking, ‘I’m never ever going to get in this team’, there were three or four players (in my position). When I signed it was Andi Weimann, Jamie Paterson, Kasey Palmer - some proper names there - but they’re the teams you want to go to and get your name out there.”
Szmodics was back at Ashton Gate last week in what proved an uncomfortable return as Blackburn were thrashed 5-0, edging them ever closer to the bottom three of the Championship. However, John Eustace’s side delivered the perfect response three days later by winning 1-0 at Leeds United with Szmodics striking the winner in the last 10 minutes.
The Republic of Ireland international admits the humiliation at BS3 proved a necessary exercise in producing such a performance at Elland Road.
“We went to Bristol City on the Wednesday night, we lost 5-0 - it’s probably the best thing that could have happened to us,” Szmodics said. “We went there after a couple of good results thinking we could just turn up and they walloped us. But we needed a reaction because there’s no tougher place to go than Elland Road.
"We were on Sky so, straight away, everyone’s talking Leeds this, Leeds that, and understandably with where they are and where we are. The manager just sort of said to us, ‘no one thinks we’re going to come here and get absolutely anything, so why can’t we get a win?’”
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