Rangers' plight puts Smith in an 'unfair' position

WALTER Smith insists he has not yet reached a decision over his Rangers future despite a growing clamour for him to remain at Ibrox.

Kenny Miller is the latest player to add to calls for the veteran manager to extend his stay beyond the end of the season after PFA Scotland player of the year nominees David Weir, Steven Davis and Kris Boyd all made similar statements earlier in the week.

However, the 62-year-old believes the ongoing uncertainty, as the club continues to search for a new owner, makes it impossible for him to confirm whether he has a future at Rangers.

Smith has taken the champions to within touching distance of a second successive Clydesdale Bank Premier League title. If Celtic slip up against Hibs today, Rangers can win the title with a win against Hearts tomorrow. But regardless of what happens, Smith pointed out that a takeover in the coming weeks could result in a change of management whether he wants to stay or not.

"I've said I will wait and see what happens with the club," he said. "It's an unfair circumstance for anybody to be put in. Nothing has changed to make me change my initial decision so we just have to wait and see what happens before we can come to any decision.

"We need a bit of clarity on the club's overall situation before any decisions can be made. It's not just my decision. If there is a buyer, they may want to bring another manager in. That's the circumstance we have all been working under. As long as we continue to do as well as we have been doing, I don't mind."

Smith and his backroom staff have been working without contracts since January, while several players – including top goalscorer Boyd – see their current deals expire at the end of the season.

The Ibrox manager knows everyone connected to the club could find themselves in a situation where they are heading off for the close season with no idea what the new term will hold.

Smith added: "These are all the awkward situations we face as a club at the present moment. The quicker the situation is sorted out the better because that's one of the problems we would face. As soon as we get some clarity – whatever that clarity may be – the better it will be."

Smith's achievements in his second spell have been arguably more impressive than his involvement in the nine in a row campaign in the 1990s, considering the lack of resources and financial uncertainty this time around.

Asked whether he believes he is a better manager now, Smith said: "I'm maybe better equipped to handle it now. I would hope that when you gain in experience, that you can use that experience well. If you don't, it's hardly been worthwhile gaining it.

"In many ways, it does help you. You still have some awkward decisions to make and I'm probably better equipped to handle the down sides as much as anything. No matter how much success you have, the down periods are the most difficult to handle. I'm better placed to handle that now than I was.

"We've not had a lot of them thankfully and the players we have had over the last three years have done well and we've not had that many problems to overcome."

Rangers could go into tomorrow's game with the title up for grabs. But Smith sees no reason why his players should feel any extra pressure ahead of the Ibrox clash with Hearts. "The pressure is there all the time," he said. "It's one of the things about the Old Firm: we are used to the pressure; the pressure is there from the first game of the season.

"We've got to win and we've got to win all the time. That's the expectations. It doesn't change simply because a championship is at stake. It brings a little bit of an extra edge – a good edge – but the pressure on you doesn't change."

Meanwhile, former Rangers manager Dick Advocaat looks set to become the new coach of Russia. The Dutchman unexpectedly resigned as coach of Belgium on Thursday, barely six months after taking the role.

Advocaat, who also coaches Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar, revealed yesterday that he has held talks with the Russian Football Federation about becoming Guus Hiddink's successor.

"A number of weeks ago I was approached by the Russian Football Federation," said Advocaat, who took over at Ibrox following Smith's first spell in charge. "I thought about it and decided to stop with Belgium and possibly to accept the offer from Russia. The main reason is sporting improvement.

"Russia are at a higher level than Belgium and the likelihood of a European Championship is greater. That is the level I am accustomed to working at. Also I know the players well, with six players from Zenit St Petersburg." Advocaat was manager at Zenit for three years, winning the Uefa Cup in 2008 by beating Rangers in the final.