Sporting tie just as important as Celtic game, insists Smith

The under-resourced Ibrox side face two hugely significant matches over the next four days. Although both sets of opponents play in hoops, Smith cannot afford to distinguish one from the other.

The Rangers manager yesterday insisted that he is as desperate to progress past Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League as he is to defeat Celtic at Parkhead on Sunday. This remains the case despite an acknowledgement from Smith yesterday that the pressure on his squad is far greater now than in 2008, the year a run to the Uefa Cup final was said to have cost his side the league title.

Sporting Lisbon’s arrival in Scotland yesterday made the temptation to reflect on that campaign yet more difficult to resist. The Portuguese team were defeated by Rangers at the quarter-final stage four seasons ago. But fatigue finally overcame the Ibrox side as they were undone by Zenit St Petersburg in the final in Manchester, with Celtic triumphing over their faltering rivals in a league campaign that had been disrupted by postponements.

A severe winter, coupled with Rangers’ progress in Europe, means that another busy programme is in store for the Ibrox side. A potentially championship-defining match with Celtic on Sunday is bookended by clashes with Sporting Lisbon in the last 16 stage of the Europa League. A Scottish Cup fifth-round replay with Celtic is also scheduled for under a fortnight’s time.

“I almost take a simplistic view of these things,” said Smith yesterday. “When you are at a big club, and you enter a tournament, you want to try to win it. When I was asked about the League Cup, and whether I was taking it seriously, my answer was quite simple: Is everyone else taking it seriously? Because we’ve been in a lot of finals.

“So it’s the same thing in Europe. If you are in the tournament then you want to try to do well in it. That’s the way it is.”

Rangers are again discovering there can be a price paid for success. Smith yesterday contemplated another crucial period in his second and final stint as Rangers manager, pointing out that it is fairly obvious why the task must be considered a more onerous one this time around. The Ibrox playing resources have shrunk due to the financial constraints now in place at the club.

“Simple mathematics will tell you,” he said. “If you had 24 [players] before and now you are down to 16, then you are obviously putting more pressure on the group.

“But there is no way we will approach this by fielding a team that we think might not win this game, just because we go to Celtic Park on Sunday. What if we ended up losing both games? You’ve just got to try to win the matches as you have them. Yes, it may have an influence on your domestic situation.”

Smith despairs at those who imagine him ranking matches in order of significance. He denied