Miller leaving made Smith 'give title up'

Walter SMITH has admitted he all but gave up on Rangers' hopes of retaining the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title after top-scorer Kenny Miller quit the Scottish champions.

The striker, who remains top of the SPL scoring charts with 22 goals, joined Champions League opponents Bursaspor in the January transfer window.

Miller's departure came at a time when an already small squad had been hit hard by injuries, including the absence of 4million summer signing Nikica Jelavic, and Smith feared for his team's ability to challenge rivals Celtic.

Smith said: "We had a few things around January or February, when we lost our top goalscorer and our other striker was out injured and we had quite a bit to contend with injury-wise.

"I never thought we would actually get to the stage this season where, with the split coming and five games to go, we would have an opportunity to win the league.

"I thought there would be a huge element of doubt at that time of the year."