Dean Smith admitted that picking this season's Brentford starting XI is the hardest job he's had when it comes to selecting teams.

The Bees boss made five changes against Bristol City and produced a dominant performance, although defensive lapses cost them as the Robins snatched a point they scarcely deserved.

And he faces a difficult choice as to who starts against Ipswich on Saturday.

He said: “It's the hardest I've had in my career at picking the starting XI. The quality that we have and you have to look at training and the quality of the sessions have gone up. They're all playing to get a place and it's great for me.”

There have been suggestions that Smith is unsure about what is his best XI but he feels he has found the right balance after a strong performance against the Robins.

Dean Smith

“I feel we've got a good quality squad here. I made five changes tonight and that's unlike me. I don't feel anybody has played terrible but I can do that with the squad we've got,” he added.

“The ones who are playing their best at the time (are my best XI). It looked like we got the balance right today with a performance that is up there in my period in the Championship.”

There is a feeling that Brentford will thrash a team at some point this season but that's not Smith's main concern.

Smith explained: “I'm not worried about giving a team a hiding. I think Bristol City are a good team and we looked a class above them and if we play like that, we're a top six team.

“I'm disappointed our points tally is not as high after three games but we haven't got what we deserve. If we keep playing like that, we will get what we deserve.”