English club Stevenage hires ex-Rapids coach Smith

STEVENAGE, England (AP)—Former Colorado coach Gary Smith has been hired to manage English third-tier club Stevenage, two months after being fired by the Rapids.

The 43-year-old Englishman joined the Rapids as an assistant coach in 2008 before taking charge of the Major League Soccer team later that season and winning the 2010 MLS Cup.

Stevenage chairman Phil Wallace says he took a “different approach” to replacing Graham Westley, who joined Preston earlier this month.

Wallace says Smith “is young but he has already won silverware at the highest level possible in the U.S.”

Smith joined the Rapids coaching staff in 2008 after leaving Arsenal, whose majority shareholder is Colorado owner Stan Kroenke.