Tommy Smith is looking forward to a return to the iPro Stadium with Brentford after he had two fantastic years with Derby.

The 34-year-old scored 20 goals in 90 league appearances for the Rams during his time there and remains respected by their supporters.

And he knows it will be a tough trip for the Bees against a side desperate to make up for last season's play-off heartbreak against QPR.

He said: “The iPro is always a tough place to go to. I had a couple of great years there.

“It's a fantastic club with great support. The whole set-up there is a Premier League team so I'm sure they'll be itching to put themselves in that position.

“The top two might be a stretch at the moment but they'll be desperate to get there.

Ram: Tommy Smith in his Derby days

“I only know keeper Lee Grant from my time there. There's a few in the staff. Lee Grant is the only one but he's been away and come back.

“I won't be texting him ahead of the game but will catch up with him on the day.”

Smith has been involved in promotion chases with Cardiff, Derby, Watford and QPR in his career and believes the team spirit in the dressing room is similar to those.

He said: “You can never say never. We've got a good run-in. If we win any game who knows.

“It's hard to compare teams. The biggest thing you can compare is the team spirit in the dressing room.

“We've got that in abundance. We've come back from 2-0 down twice at home now and that shows what we've got and it's a key part to being successful.”

"We had a play-off place in my first year and lost in that. In the second year we were mid-table. I left the year Billy Davies came and they went up that year. There was a lot of building for the future."