HIS Brentford side might have prevented Middlesbrough from recording a fourth win on the bounce last weekend, but Bees boss Dean Smith still expects the Teessiders to claim a play-off place this season.

Boro travelled to Griffin Park hoping to extend their winning run, but while they opened the scoring through Adama Traore’s first-half strike, they were pegged back when Lewis Macleod levelled before the break.

Brentford looked the likelier winners for most of the second half, but Boro’s defence held firm to ensure they headed into the international break sitting in sixth position in the table, a point clear of Bristol City, who are currently a place below them.

The battle for a play-off spot is set to go to the wire, but Smith expects the experience within the Boro squad to be crucial. The likes of George Friend, Daniel Ayala, Ben Gibson, Adam Clayton, Grant Leadbitter and Stewart Downing all played key roles when the Teessiders last won promotion to the top-flight two seasons ago, and Smith expects their big-game know-how to be a massive advantage in the remaining eight games.

“They’ve got quality players,” said the Brentford boss. “They’re very well organised, they’re a threat from set-pieces and they can beat a lot of teams.

“I believe they’ll stick around in the top six. They’ve got enough experience in the dressing room and on the sidelines.”

Smith was especially keen to highlight the attacking threat posed by Traore and Patrick Bamford, with the former having claimed his fifth goal in the last ten matches at the weekend and the latter having been on a remarkable scoring spree in the last five weeks.

“We really like Bamford,” he said. “I think he’s a player with terrific potential, but I thought we defended really well against him. And Traore was always going to be a danger.”

Traore will hope to make his Spain Under-21 debut this week, having been named in the squad for matches against Northern Ireland and Estonia. The winger has previously represented Spain at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 level.

Britt Assomabalonga will also be hoping to make an international bow, as the striker has been selected in the DR Congo squad for next Monday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Tanzania.

Darren Randolph has not been named in the Republic of Ireland squad for a friendly in Turkey, but Martin O’Neill insists his exclusion should not be interpreted as a criticism of his performances in a Boro shirt this season.

“It was always going to be like this, that I wanted to introduce some players,” said O’Neill. “Darren, I was always going to leave out anyway. We’ve got a couple of games at the end of the season, but this particular match, it is a chance for uncapped players and those who have been around the periphery of things for the last number of months.”