PAUL SMITH is preparing to take on former club Brentford tomorrow night - fresh from the best performance of his Saints career.

Goalkeeper Smith kept a clean sheet at bottom of the table West Brom last Tuesday but rated his performance against Arsenal as his best after denying the likes of Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg with a succession of fine saves.

The 25-year-old said: "We kept a good clean sheet against West Brom and today we've conceded just one goal against a top team, we've defended well. I've been lucky since I've come into the side.

"It was nice to make an impression on the big stage and this is something to build on, and there's no reason why we can't progress in the FA Cup tomorrow night.

It would have been good to beat Brentford here last weekend but we have to look at the positives, we're still in the Cup and Brentford are a good side.

"Martin Allen has made a few good signings since I was there but it'll be good to play against a few familiar faces."

Smith's four appearances since Antti Niemi has been injured have all been draws, but the Epsom-born keeper believes that Crystal Palace's four-point lead is not insurmountable.

He added: "It's case of turning one point into three, then we'll start climbing the league, but we have to be pleased with a point against a side like Arsenal.

"I'm out there to make saves and have been happy with how I've been playing. It was the first time I'd played against Thierry Henry so it was good to stop him from scoring.

"But we had chances as well to win the game and if we play like we did today there's no reason why we can't stay up."

Smith conceded an injury-time equaliser to Everton's Marcu Bent in his first appearance of the season and suffered a brief bout of deja vu when Ashley Cole hit the back of the net in stoppage time.

He added: "After looking at it again it was definitely offside but at the time it was difficult to tell, so it was a big relief when we saw the linesman's flag."