The 22-year-old wants to join the growing list of United defenders to score against rivals Liverpool.
United face Liverpool this weekend.
“I’m definitely working hard on my role at corners and free-kicks in order to make an impact,” Smalling told the club’s official website.
“When I joined, one or two of the coaches pointed out that they were looking for goals from the centre-halves. Obviously Nemanja Vidic scores a few and if you can add goals to your armoury it’s a massive plus point.”
“Hopefully I’ll keep finding the net and contribute a bit more in the future. I don’t want us to be relying all the time on the strikers for goals.”
“I think centre-forwards are changing a little bit,” he added. “We’re used to defending against either big strong forwards or quick nippy ones.
“But the likes of Demba Ba and Bobby Zamora as well as a few other strikers in the league, combine elements of both and I think that’s made things a little more difficult for defenders. That could be a reason why we’re seeing a lot more goals.
“I think you have to give managers a lot of credit for allowing their star players the freedom to roam and get on the ball in advanced areas.
“It’s the same thing we do with Wayne Rooney here at United. Those players are all at their best when they can go out and express themselves and run at opposition defences.”
