Tommy Smith (Macarthur FC | Australia)

Tommy Smith hopes his World Cup heroics in South Africa will convince Roy Keane he is ready to be an Ipswich Town regular.

The 20-year-old defender has been one of the stars of the New Zealand  side who defied the odds to finish unbeaten in their group and above world champions Italy. Ultimately, three resolute draws against Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay were not quite enough as the All Whites and the Italians were knocked out of the group stage.

But while understandably disappointed, Smith will be left with great memories and even better experience as he turns his attention to next season. His performances on the left of a three-man central defence, admirably marshalled by Blackburn�s Ryan Nelsen, has certainly left many Town fans thinking he is ready to be thrust into full-time Championship football.

He is a ready-made replacement for Damien Delaney should the injured Irishman not make the start of the season while he could also vie with Shane O�Connor for the left-back spot � possibly convincing Keane that this is one area he doesn�t need to strengthen. There is also the option of mimicking the All Whites� three central defenders policy, should the Town boss want to experiment. While looking forward to a well-deserved break before reporting for pre-season two weeks after his Town team mates, Smith couldn�t help but start thinking about the 2010/11 campaign.

He told the club website: �For me personally, I think playing in the World Cup has improved me as a player and I hope that will help me to establish myself in the Ipswich side. I have already had a few messages from some of the Ipswich lads saying well done but I�m sure I will get some stick from them when I get back as well.�

While arriving back in the UK this weekend, Smith has been given a break until July 16 when he will report back for pre-season training. Having made just a handful of starts prior to the World Cup, Smith defied any fears over his international inexperience by becoming one of the many stars of New Zealand�s tournament � prompting some to tout him as a future captain of the national side.

His copybook was only blotted by a foul on Italy�s Daniele De Rossi which gave the Azzurri a penalty and handed them an equaliser in the 1-1 draw. But the overall impression of the Town youngster will be of a confident and consistent performer who handled the world�s biggest stage with great maturity. On a larger level, he believes the performances of the All Whites could have massive repercussions back home.

�I think what we achieved will be massive boost for the sport in New Zealand,� Smith said. �Football has forever been a long way behind rugby in the popularity stakes but with us doing reasonably well, the whole country has stood up and taken notice of the sport. More and more kids are taking up football and that can only be good for the development of the game in New Zealand.�

New Zealand�s failure to create chances and score more goals was highlighted by Smith as a reason why they didn�t progress beyond Group F. It was a fair assessment as anyone who witnessed their final, and goalless draw, against Paraguay on Thursday will testify. But for a team who some harshly felt didn�t even deserve to be in the World Cup, three draws and taking the lead against the once-mighty Italians was the perfect answer to any critics.

Smith said: �Playing in the World Cup has been a great experience. I�ve got mixed emotions about it because I�m disappointed that we didn�t take that extra step and get into the next round. I�m proud to have represented New Zealand on the world stage though and to have remained unbeaten in the competition.�