Smith is set to announce his retained list this week as he begins building his own squad to avoid another season of struggle.
"It's about getting the right players and recruitment will certainly be top of the list," he told the Express & Star.
"We can start planning, we've still got one game to see out the season, but we can certainly start planning for next year.
"It gives us a head start, last season I was planning a minute after the final game finished but this year I can do it a week before.
"It's a long season and you only have to look at the dressing rooms at Wycombe, Chesterfield, Exeter and Rochdale to know how hard it is to stay in the league."
