Walter Smith aware one off-day can scupper treble hopes

WALTER Smith is confident familiarity won't breed complacency as Rangers face Hamilton Academical for a third match in succession in the Active Nation Scottish Cup tonight.

The Ibrox side have the added incentive of keeping their hopes of a treble alive, and are the only Scottish club capable of achieving something which, Smith pointed out yesterday, is proved by history to be exceptionally difficult to capture. Even during the era when Smith led Rangers to nine successive titles they lifted just one Treble – in 1992-93.

But talk has inevitably turned to the possibility of Rangers claiming their first domestic clean sweep since 2002-03, in Alex McLeish's first full season with the club. Emulating this feat in the club's currently parlous state would undoubtedly result in greater satisfaction. Rangers have not been active in the transfer market for 18 months and are a long way from the big-spending outfit of Advocaat's time. They might have won the Treble last season, but for a loss in the final of the CIS Insurance Cup to Celtic. And Smith was thwarted in the bid to lift back-to-back trebles in 1994, when Dundee United defeated Rangers in the final of the Scottish Cup.

One off-day can see the dream evaporate and Smith knows that Hamilton Accies have the capability to leave Rangers targeting a double at best come Wednesday morning. Although they lost 5-1 at Ibrox in the same competition last season, their clashes over the last nine days have been much closer affairs. In the first two rounds of this three-match sequence Rangers have come out on top just once, and then only by a single goal from Nacho Novo. Saturday's league match was as closely run as the preceding Sunday's cup clash between the sides, when Hamilton clawed back a two-goal deficit to lead 3-2 at half-time. Kenny Miller equalised in the second-half for Rangers, and he is likely to boost his side by returning from suspension tonight.

Smith spoke of the benefit of having Miller available again yesterday. As well as meaning it gives the Ibrox side more edge in front of goal, the manager expressed the hope that he might help bring out the best in Kyle Lafferty. The Northern Ireland internationalist has been thrust back into the spotlight due to Kris Boyd's hernia injury, and is still finding form hard to come by at Ibrox. Smith hinted that the player's difficulties did not stem solely from his inability to hold down a regular starting spot.

"Lafferty is just needing to settle down on and off the pitch, there's no doubt about that," said the manager.

Smith has not had his troubles to seek over the past two seasons, and such issues as money-struggles and player discipline have no doubt impacted on the side's progress. Yet Rangers still stand nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League and are due to face St Johnstone in the semi-final of the CIS Insurance Cup next month. Smith knows that the club's stature means few will take into account such impediments, while the truth is that Rangers are still better equipped than Hamilton, as well as every other club in Scotland bar Celtic. Even in the financially stable times, reflected Smith, the treble could be extraordinarily elusive, although such are the expectations which surround the club it remains an annual ambition.

"A treble is a difficult thing to achieve," he said. "If people think it's easy, they should know that you have to have a fair share of good fortune to do it. If you look back at teams who have dominated in Scotland, back to Celtic's historic run of nine-in-a-row, winning the treble was still an incredibly difficult thing to do. They only did it twice during the period. So it's not easy to keep doing."

"When you start out a season with Rangers, there is pressure on you to win all the games," he added. "It sometimes might sound a bit arrogant to say we're trying to win the treble. But, at Celtic and Rangers, that's the way it is. If you are not featuring in them, then you've got a problem."

Rangers, who have Lee McCulloch also available after suspension tonight, start a run of four midweek outings in a row tonight, and are heartened by the news Pedro Mendes is back in training. DaMarcus Beasley and Steven Naismith should return to training next week. Given the injuries and the absence of Madjid Bougherra due to international commitments, Smith is grateful for the continued excellence of Sasa Papac. The manager described him as the most "consistent player of the last couple of seasons" and hailed his loyalty to the club.

"He had a couple of opportunities to move away early in my time here but turned them down," Smith recalled. "Not that I wanted him to go but I always go to the players, and tell them there has been interest and ask what they think. He wasn't interested in leaving and I'm delighted about that."

Kirk Broadfoot has not been quite so quick to put his name to a new contract and has asked for more time to think over an offer made by the club last week.

"My agent has spoken to them (Rangers]," he said. "We are thinking it over before getting back to them. It would probably be better to have an early answer but I won't rush into it. We are just concentrating on Rangers' offer. My first choice would be to stay here."