Glory for Rangers, but Walter Smith warns repeat of 2008 run to final unlikely

WALTER SMITH last night played down the prospect of his Rangers team emulating their run to the Uefa Cup final of three years ago following their remarkable success against Sporting Lisbon in Portugal.

The Scottish champions were heading out of the Europa League when they fell 2-1 behind in the Jose Alvalade Stadium with seven minutes of their round of 32 second-leg match remaining. But Maurice Edu's goal in the second minute of stoppage time levelled the tie at 3-3 on aggregate, taking Rangers through on away goals to a last 16 showdown with PSV Eindhoven, who completed a 5-3 aggregate win over Lille last night.

Rangers will travel to the Netherlands for the first leg on 10 March with the second leg at Ibrox seven days later.

That intensifies an already busy fixture schedule for Smith's squad, who are still chasing success in all three Scottish domestic competitions. It mirrors the circumstances Rangers found themselves in back in 2008 when they reached the Uefa Cup final but Smith believes it will be even more difficult for his team to go all the way this time against the straitened financial backdrop of the club.

"That's the part that remains to be seen," said Smith. "We have a limited number of players available at the moment and we just have to see how it affects us. But that's the situation our club is in. As a manager, I have to try and ask the boys to win. If we can't handle the domestic situation because of the number of games we play, that's the club's fault because of the circumstances we are placed under.

"If you are going to play in all of the tournaments, you need a big squad. We have maybe eight fewer players than we had when we reached the Uefa Cup final three years ago. We just need to accept it. The circumstances around the club are much worse than they were three years ago but we can only try and win the games as they come along. But PSV are a very good side and that will be an extremely difficult tie for us." Smith again dismissed suggestions that progress in the Europa League is actually undesirable for Rangers in their current situation.

"Everyone has been saying if we are going to do well domestically, then it would be better if we got knocked out of Europe, but I honestly don't consider that to be a factor," added Smith.

"You want to win, wherever you are. We could have just let our heads go down and accept the 2-1 defeat tonight, but we didn't. I was delighted at full-time. All of the other Scottish teams and people in Scottish football talk about having to do well in Europe for the sake of the country's co-efficient. Well, we've done better than anyone in recent seasons. So we are doing our bit in that sense. I would never consider progress in Europe as an inconvenience."Smith's words carried extra significance last night as it emerged that Rangers' progress, combined with the elimination of the two remaining Swiss teams in the competition - Young Boys and FC Basel - means that Scotland will get a second Champions League place back in 2012, although they must settle for one next season.

Smith praised his players for their resilience on an evening when they set out to atone for their poor performance in the 3-0 Old Firm defeat at Celtic Park on Sunday.

"They were disgusted with the way they played in the Old Firm game," said Smith. "They didn't show anything at all. But they have always shown a good reaction. We have five boys on loan, but they have all taken on board what it means to play for this club. They are trying as hard as any of the permanent players. They are a gutsy group and that's why they were really disappointed they didn't show enough of that at Celtic Park. Whatever criticism they have all taken recently, they are gutsy.

"I didn't think there was much between the two teams tonight but our lads just never gave up on it, even when they went 2-1 down so late in the game."

Smith made no apologies for deploying his 5-4-1 formation again last night with the end justifying the means for the man who celebrated his 63rd birthday in memorable fashion.

"I set the team out in the way I think is the best way to do it," he said. "A lot of people may be critical of it but you have to ask yourself about the circumstances we are in when it comes to having a bit of success in Europe.

"Getting out of the Champions League group was a level of success and the more games we can have in the Europa League the better, not just for us, but for the country. The system has worked reasonably well for us in Europe this season and, hopefully, it can continue to do so."