Gary Smith reckons he's stronger than ever after making his first competitive Brentford appearance for 10 months in Tuesday's victory over Barnet.

The 25-year-old has been on the treatment table with an ankle injury after being crocked during pre-season training.

Smith suffered several setbacks on his road to recovery, and spent his spare time beefing up in the gym.

He played 73 minutes on the right wing in the 1-0 win against the north Londoners at Griffin Park, and insists the hard graft is finally paying off.

He said: "I'm delighted. It was a hard game. I was surprised I lasted so long, but I'm glad to be back.

"I feel as if I've put quite a lot of muscle on since I haven't been playing. It's a long time being off and you've got to concentrate on something.

"I've been in the gym all the time. My match fitness is not there yet, but I'm getting sharper. I'm a few games away from full fitness, then I should be flying."

However, Bees fans feared the worse when their new muscle man was left in a heap in the first-half following a strong tackle by Nicky Deverdics.

But former Middlesbrough and MK Dons man Smith, who has been plagued by a knee injury in the past, is happy he was dumped on his backside!

"I was glad I got hit," said Smith. "It didn't go again, and I've got to keep strengthening.

"I knew it was just a kick, so some rest and a bit of ice and it should be alright."

Bees boss Andy Scott had no hesitation in throwing Smith into the fray against Barnet, in a game Brentford won thanks to Marcus Bean's first-half header.

Scott said: "Smithy's been champing at the bit for a while, and I felt we needed something a bit different on the right.

"Marvin Williams and Adam Newton have done very well there, but Smithy causes players different kinds of problems and has good ball retention.

"I thought the Barnet game was right to break him back in, and his work-rate was brilliant."

It could have been a different story for Brentford had Ben Hamer not tipped Albert Adomah's first-half effort onto he post at full-stretch.

Barnet keeper Jake Cole was at full-stretch too early in the second-half, brilliantly tipping over a Jordan Rhodes header before saving well from a Sam Wood belter.

And although Barnet pummelled the Brentford goal for the last 20 minutes or so, kept out by

a combination of fine defending and wasteful finishing, it was Brentford who came closest to scoring again.

Sub Sam Williams wasted a golden chance for a dream debut when he lifted the ball over when one-on-one with Cole, and Charlie MacDonald hit the post in injury time after Cole fumbled.

BEES: Hamer,Halls, Dickson, Phillips, Bennett, Bean, O'Connor (Hunt, 90 mins), Smith (Williams. M, 73 mins, Rhodes (Williams. S, 70 mins), MacDonald, Wood. Subs not used: Simon Brown, Osborne. ATTENDANCE: 4,742