Northampton head coach accepted the 36-28 victory over win-less Bristol Shoguns may have been lucky - especially against his former coaching mentor Peter Thorburn.

The Shoguns battled well but, as in the games against Saracens and London Wasps, basic errors cost them dearly and with games against Gloucester and Leicester to come they have a steep hill to climb.

But Smith is predicting that the Shoguns will not lose too many more this season.

"I think that Bristol played really well and they were desperate for their first win. They created a lot of opportunities," said Smith.

"If they keep playing like that they won't lose too many this season and should start winning next week at Gloucester. I said after the defeat by Sale that we'd win a lucky one at some stage this year, and this was probably it, as well as lose a lucky one along the way.

"But I thought my lads showed a lot of heart. There's a lot of pride in those Saints jerseys and it showed particularly well in some of the defensive situations we found ourselves in. We've been working on our discipline but still need more work on our restarts."

Smith continued with his experiment of playing England wing Ben Cohen at inside centre, just as he did last week against Newcastle Falcons.

"Playing Ben in the centre gives me more options tactically," added Smith. "If needed I can bring him in off the wing or keep him in the centre.

"The experiment must also be advantageous for England although I'm not expecting a call from Clive Woodward to keep him there."

Former All Blacks selector Thorburn has stressed the Shoguns' preparation for this season have been two or three weeks adrift. But now with the arrival of All Blacks centre Daryl Gibson from Canterbury Crusaders he hoped the tide will turn.

"If we should have won it, we would have won it," said Thorburn. "We did some silly things this afternoon and if we're going to be in contention this season we need to take our chances when they come our way.

"You make your own luck and we need to tie our opportunities down. We probably rushed things a little and we tried to play a bit more for territory in the second half but Northampton put us under pressure and got a good charge down which resulted in a try.

"We blew a couple of opportunities, we need to get the points and we need to nail our opportunities. Our line-out and our scrum are playing very well and we are getting a lot more effective at the breakdown.

"Daryl will strengthen things and that's the reason he is here. It's having that experience to do the right things at the right time. He's been well rested, fit and ready to go so it's just a matter if he can fit into the scene."