Dominic Smith eyes Shrewsbury Town first-team role

Smith was handed a two-year professional deal with the club in February after impressing in both the youth and reserve team ranks this season.

The former Belvidere School pupil knows he still may well have to be patient for his first taste of competitive first team football.

But the talented stopper, who described signing his first professional deal as "one of the best experiences of my life", said he is confident that he is ready to take the next step in his career.

Asked if a competitive first team debut was a realistic aim for next season, he said: "Yeah, definitely. Hopefully I might get the chance, whether its a couple of games or coming off the bench.

"I'm ready. I'm always prepared mentally and physically. "

Smith, who enjoyed his latest run out for the reserves against Morecambe on Tuesday, has been included on the bench for a number of first team games.

Should he get his chance in the first team, he would become the fifth youth team graduate to do so in recent years following in the footsteps of Jon Taylor, Connor Goldson, Tom Bradshaw and Ryan Woods.

Goldson's success in the last two years, which has seen him establish himself as a first choice centre half recently, has been a particular source of inspiration, and Smith is hopeful he can follow the same path.

He said: "I look up to Connor. He has come through the youth ranks and plays centre-half like me. I remember playing in the youth team with him and hopefully we could get a chance to play in the first team in the future.

Smith has also been making waves on the international scene and has established himself with Wales Under-19s.

In his latest call-ups he helped the team keep two clean sheets in a 2-0 win and a 0-0 draw against Montenegro in Newport last month.