CHRIS Smith has taken what could be the biggest gamble of his life to date by opting to put on hold his education to focus on his fledgling career as professional footballer, but he is confident it will prove to be the right decision.

The 21-year-old was named by Swindon boss Paolo Di Canio as the 2012 Samsung Win A Pro Contract winner recently and has spent the last couple of weeks training with the Robins’ first team.

Smith will spend the next year at the County Ground, during which time he knows he has to pull out all the stops to prove to Di Canio that he has what it takes to carve out a career in professional football.

Prior to receiving the call from the Town boss, Smith had been studying Sports Coaching and Development at Staffordshire University while playing for non-league Stone Dominoes – who ply their trade five divisions below the Robins.

Inaugural Win A Pro Contract winner Jordan Pavett failed to impress enough to earn a new deal and was released at the start of the year, so Smith is well aware of the task he faces.

But, after discussions with his course lecturers, he is confident that his career gamble will pay off.

“I was hoping I could continue my studies but after speaking to the lecturers there is no real way that I will be able to do that at Staffordshire University and be able to be here in Swindon as well,” Smith told the Advertiser.

“The course is an attendance based one and it would be almost impossible for me to get back up there with training every day. I have had to defer for a year or two and see how things go.

“I am determined to show that I can play at this standard and if and when the manager needs me I am there ready to play.”

Di Canio’s decision to pick Smith may have come as a surprise to Town fans, given that he plays at right-back where he faces an enormous task to oust skipper Paul Caddis any time soon.

“I know what I have to do,” he added.

“There are Paul Caddis and Nathan Thompson here who are both very good right-backs, so it is just about learning as much as possible over the next six months and getting the fitness levels up to being the same as the rest of the lads here.”

Fortunately, Smith could hardly be at a better to club to get up to league standard, with Di Canio and his coaching staff valuing fitness highly and Town have shown this season that they are arguably the fittest team in League Two.

But despite the strenuous regime, Smith has loved every minute of it so far.

“It has been brilliant and I am really enjoying it,” he said.

“The training is obviously a lot different to what I have been used to in terms of the intensity and it is a lot more organised from what I have done before, there is more attention to detail and structured.

“I am getting on with everyone, they have taken me in as one of their own so it is really good and I am happy here."