dˌuːɪŋ ɐ stˈɛdi dʒˈɑːb wɪðˌaʊt bˌiːɪŋ aʊtstˈændɪŋ, hiː ɹᵻmˈeɪnd ðə fˈɜːst tʃˈɔɪs ɪn ðɪs pəzˈɪʃən ʌntˈɪl ɹᵻtˈaɪɚɹɪŋ wɪð ɐ ɡɹˈɔɪn stɹˈeɪn dˈʊɹɹɪŋ ɐ zˈiəɹoʊ zˈiəɹoʊ dɹˈɔː æt bɹˈɛntfɚd ɪn ɑːktˈoʊbɚ ɐ ɹɪzˈʌlt ðæt bɹˈɔːt tʊ ɐn ˈɛnd ɐ klˈʌb ɹˈɛkɚd ɹˈʌn ʌv ˈeɪt səksˈɛsɪv dᵻfˈiːts, bˌʌt ɐn ˈɪndʒɚɹi ðæt kˈɛpt smˈɪθ ˌaʊɾəv ˈækʃən fɔːɹ ˈɔːlmoʊst ɐ mˈʌnθ.
Doing a steady job without being outstanding, he remained the first choice in this position until retiring with a groin strain during a 0–0 draw at Brentford in October – a result that brought to an end a club record run of eight successive defeats, but an injury that kept Smith out of action for almost a month.