ALAN Smith believes it is becoming increasingly difficult for players to avoid entering the referee's notebook with the former Man Utd ace teetering on the brink of a third suspension of the season.

The 27-year-old had been an ever-present in the opening ten games of the campaign until a fifth caution kept him out of the 3-1 win over Spurs back in October.

A straight red card during last month's 6-0 drubbing at Old Trafford then meant a further two-game ban for a player who has only missed one other fixture - the FA Cup Third Round stalemate at Stoke - because of injury.

But a yellow card against Middlesbrough on Sunday for a fairly innocuous challenge sees Smith one booking away from his tenth of the season and an automatic two-game suspension.

However, Smith (pictured below) feels that there is not enough leniency shown towards whole-hearted players such as himself and midfield colleague Nicky Butt.

"It's difficult. You make one foul in a game sometimes and it's a straight red," said the man who arrived from Man Utd during the summer.

"I think Nicky Butt made something like three fouls in his three games earlier this season, and got three yellow cards.

"It's making it more and more difficult to stop the best teams, because to stop them you've got to tackle and put them under pressure.

"You've got to win tackles, and be committed, but it's stopping you because you're not allowed to tackle.

"There was a tackle I saw on TV where a player has missed the ball by millimetres, and he's got sent off."

Nevertheless, Smith accepts that the fast-paced life of Premier League football makes it a difficult environment for referees to get every decision correct.

"It's difficult for me to come out and say the rules are wrong, but I think people who are in football can tell if someone's trying to hurt someone, or making a genuine attempt for the ball," he added.

"That's the most difficult thing for the referee, because it's a split-second decision.

"It's a no-win situation for either party, really. Players will criticise if it's wrong, and if it's a bad tackle when someone gets hurt, the ref gets criticised."

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