Bougherra says mentor Smith has turned his career around

Rangers supplemented their squad with a late addition yesterday, but perhaps the biggest boost as the Ibrox club prepare to defend last year's title is the continued presence of both Madjid Bougherra and his mentor, Walter Smith.

Rangers' need to retain Bougherra's services was particularly marked following Danny Wilson's departure for Liverpool. After all, the springboard for the retention of a championship is a sound defence. Bougherra and David Weir, the fatherly figure beside him, could be just as critical to the Ibrox club's fortunes as Kenny Miller and James Beattie, the new strike partnership which they hope will develop fruitfully following the latter's arrival from Stoke City yesterday. And then there is Smith, the canny operator who has waited the entire summer before making his first purchase for two years, thus providing the perfect eve-of-campaign boost to his side after a close-season dominated by Celtic activity in the transfer market.

Despite the rate with which Neil Lennon has been doing business, there is a school of thought which contends that Rangers still have the strongest first XI. Clearly their squad lacks a little when it comes to strength of depth, but Smith remains able to call on class acts such as Bougherra. Celtic, meanwhile, have struggled to find a reliable centre-half partnership.

Bougherra excelled at this summer's World Cup and some find it surprising that he has remained in Scotland, where he has two years left of his current deal. Perhaps even the player himself is slightly alarmed by this outcome, if not a little miffed. But then speculation will always surround the player, and he is honest enough about his intentions. He wants to return to England at some point in his career. Smith's scheduled departure at the end of the season might prompt the player to leave also. He is certainly close to Smith, despite the manager having had reason to read the riot act on occasion, specifically following those slightly barmy 'lost passport' incidents which have blighted Bougherra's time at the club and delayed his return from international duty with Algeria.

But the centre-half has always respected Smith's management style. He is tough, but fair. Bougherra's warm words yesterday about the manager underlined just what an asset Rangers must prepare to lose come the end of this campaign. Smith has been a huge boon to Rangers since his return, re-establishing them not only as league champions in successive seasons but also carrying his players through a stormy period off the field, when their very futures were thrown into doubt due to the worsening financial situation at the club.

The likes of Bougherra and Steven Davis are critical to Rangers' ambitions this season, but then so too is Smith.It will be a very different club next season, when Ally McCoist takes over the reins. Although honed in the traditions of the club, he cannot possibly be expected to bring to bear the type of solid management which is the hallmark of Smith.

Bougherra paid tribute to the manager on the eve of his final season in charge at Ibrox. "He changed my mind about football," said the defender. "He gave me confidence which I did not have before. He can be very quiet, and our relationship is very simple. He uses simple words. He allows me to be free on the pitch.

"He can be scary," added Bougherra. "All the players want him to be happy. When he is happy with you it is great. You don't want to make him angry. It is better for you that he is in a happy mood. I have not had many managers, but he is certainly one of the best. If I hadn't signed for him and Rangers then I am sure I will not have made the same progress. I feel I progressed my game here and improved my mentality. I am just pleased he brought me here."

How much longer Bougherra will linger is another question, but many Rangers fans will see it as a bonus that he looks set to see out one more season at Ibrox. For Bougherra, too, this might be the ideal scenario. Play one more season with Rangers, taste another round of Champions League games, and then move on, with the Ibrox club then able to command a decent fee for the defender plucked from the relative obscurity of Charlton Athletic two years ago. "I will still have one year of my contract left when he (Smith] goes," said Bougherra. "I am 100 per cent happy to finish my contract if I have to finish my contract. But if there is a good opportunity for the club and for me to move to England, why not?"

But, before he departs, Bougherra wants to add at least one more title medal to the two he has. "Other than Boydy, it is really the same team," he said, when about the coming season. "On the pitch we are a group, we have a good relationship."

He acknowledged that if even one member of this tight group sustains an injury "then we could have a problem". But he is confident that the Ibrox side can defy the challenge from across the city once more. "You see that Boydy scored about 25 goals, and Kenny (Miller] 20," he continued. "If we don't have Boydy then we need someone to (come in and] score 20 goals or more."

Whether Beattie can do this remains to be seen. But Rangers are clearly not ready to relinquish the title without a fight as they seek to provide Smith with a golden goodbye.

INS

James Beattie (Stoke).

OUTS

DaMarcus Beasley, Kris Boyd (Middlesbrough), Scott Durie (East Fife), Scott Gallacher (Forfar, loan), Nacho Novo (Sporting Gijon), Steven Smith (Norwich City), Kevin Thomson (Middlesbrough), Danny Wilson (Liverpool).