Brentford’s veteran striker Tommy Smith reckons he knows the secret to staying in the Championship.

It is not such an outlandish claim given his 17 years in the game since making his debut for Watford in 1997.

Since then, Smith, pictured, has scored 95 league goals, the most recent being the equaliser in his debut against Charlton, earning the Bees their first point of the campaign.

Despite all this experience, the 34-year-old admitted he had never played in a game like the Capital One Cup victory over Dagenham & Redbridge – the Bees winning 4-2 on penalties after the game finished 6-6.

“I’ve played in a few high scoring games before but never a 6-6,” he said.

“It was a great game to be part of. It certainly highlighted things we need to work on and but shows the positives we’ve got as well.”

But having played for seven different clubs in the Premier League and the Championship, the striker knows the key to league success for his new side.

He said: “It’s the fine lines that are the difference, the 0-0s you win in the last minute, points you get because you’ve dug in when you’ve not been playing well.

“That’s the key to the Championship for me, being tough to beat and keeping things tight – that’s something we can do here.

“We often get compared to Bournemouth because of the size of the club and their experience. They came in last year and did really well.

“You can certainly learn a lot from them and it gives you the confidence to know we’ve got nothing to fear at this level.”

In the Capital One Cup, Brentford face fierce rivals Fulham in the second round.

Manager Mark Warburton said: “It was like it was fate. The players are well aware of the importance of that game to the supporters.

“It’s important we prepare right for that game and hopefully we’ll produce a good display.”