Walter Smith angry at treble talk as Rangers lose two-goal lead

The Rangers manager last night expressed his concern after seeing his players allow a 3-1 lead against Dundee United at Ibrox to slip as Peter Houston's team came back to force a thrilling 3-3 draw and earn an Active Nation Scottish Cup quarter-final replay at Tannadice on 24 March.

It leaves Rangers now facing a hectic spell of five games in 14 days in three competitions, starting with Sunday's Co-operative Insurance Cup final against St Mirren at Hampden. It is a schedule they must face without influential defender Madjid Bougherra who has aggravated a hamstring injury and is expected to be sidelined for up to a month. Midfielder Lee McCulloch, booked yesterday, is now suspended for the replay against United.

But it is the widespread perception of a clear path to the treble for Rangers, rather than those personnel problems, which is uppermost in Smith's mind as he attempts to remind his players they have yet to win anything this season. Despite their 13-point lead at the top of the SPL, which could be shaved to seven if Celtic win their next two games before Rangers return to league business, Smith is adamant the champions cannot afford to ease off in the slightest.

"There is no level of economy available to us in any game," said Smith. "What happened against United worries me for the simple reason that people might be getting distracted. Everyone has been talking about winning a treble which is premature.

"I know what I saw out there today and it was the first time I have seen my team relaxing and letting a team come back from a situation like that. You saw the difficulties to overcome if you are going to win a treble. I feel talk of winning the league, never mind the treble, is premature.

"I know you could accuse me of playing it safe from a managerial point of view, but that's not the case. I'm being realistic in pointing out what we have to do to try and succeed this season. We now have a really tough cup tie to play at Tannadice and we also still have to go there twice in the SPL.

"People are making assumptions but they are not taking fully into account how hard it is going to be for us between now and the end of the season.

"Once we scored the third goal a real slackness came into our play. That is unusual for our boys, because they have been fantastic in terms of their overall approach this season. But today showed a side of us that I haven't seen very often and, I must be honest, it worried me.

"For me, it sends out a clear message to everyone that we won't achieve what we want to achieve this season unless we remain fully focused on what we have to do.

"Complacency could undermine everything we are trying to do. The expectation is that we have already won the league just because we have a gap at the top. We now have a cup final to play next Sunday but the bottom line for our team is that they must treat every game between now and the end of the season like a cup final if we are going to succeed.

"None of my players deserve a kick up the backside, they are a group who deserve all the credit coming their way. But this is the first time they are really having to encounter a situation like this when everyone is saying the season is finished when, quite clearly, it is not. Today is a real lesson to us in terms of what we still have to do to achieve success this season."

Another lengthy absence for Algerian international Bougherra is a blow for Rangers, but assistant manager Ally McCoist expressed confidence in the ability of his teenage deputy Danny Wilson to fill the void.

"Madjid will be out for a minimum of three weeks," said McCoist. "It is disappointing but Danny's performances this season indicate he is ready for the big games we have coming up, starting with a chance to win silverware at Hampden next Sunday."

SCOTTISH CUP REPORTS, PULL-OUT, PAGES 11-15