[Red Moon]

Alan doesn't want you on the team: Simon Smith is fourth to be fired from The Apprentice

He claimed "everyone wants me on their team" at the start of the series, but clearly that did not include Sir Alan Sugar.

Former army man Simon Smith, 35, became the latest wannabee business tycoon to be fired from this year's The Apprentice last night.

He was hauled into the boardroom after his disastrous stewardship of a task of running photographic portrait business at Europe's largest retail centre Bluewater.

The former NCO in the Royal Artillery volunteered himself for project leader, but his team managed to lose money on the task.

Sugar told the man from Harlow in Essex: "A loss. You had it in your grasp but you blew it."

He added: "Simon if I ask you to build me a wall, you'd build me a wall I'm pretty sure of it. If I asked you to dig me a trench, I think you'd dig me a trench.

"I am not sure that if I gave you my investment portfolio you'd be able to run that very well. I am sorry my friend I think you are a bit out of you're depth here, and with regret You're Fired."

Speaking after his exit from the show, satellite engineer, Smith said: "I unravelled and completely lost the plot as project manager. And the right person went. I took too much on.

"I fell spectacularly on my face, if the programme's got any integrity at all as a business programme he had to fire me."

"When you unravel that spectacularly you stitch yourself up. I needed to be put out of my misery. I wanted a quick execution so I could be Simon from Harlow again."

"No regrets at all it was an amazing experience and I learnt an awful lot about myself. I am a good worker, but I am not a good manager."

He goes back to his job putting satellites on roofs.

The former military man, who previously struggled with drug problems, said he wants to help soldiers who find it hard adjusting to life outside the services.

He said: "I am going back to normal, I don't want a media career, but if a raised profile means that a squaddie coming back from Afghanistan is finding it hard in civvy street and I can help them out, if they want to pick up the phone to me I will happily sit down and talk to them.

"It isn't easy when you get out it takes you a while to adjust back to being a civilian. It does model who you are."

Source: Daily Mail