Rangers focused on title decider

[Norris Cole 0]

Manager Walter Smith insists Rangers' desire for Scottish Premier League glory should count for more than anything Celtic say.

 

Victory at Dundee United on Sunday would guarantee the title and end a run of three consecutive Celtic successes.

 

However, Celtic striker Georgios Samaras said his team were better and deserve to win the championship.

 

"The motivation to win a championship comes from within," said Smith. "That's good motivation."

 

In what is sure to be a tense finale to the season, Celtic can overhaul Rangers' two-point lead on the final day if Smith's side drop points at Tannadice and the defending champions beat Hearts.

 

But Smith is confident his players are aware of the demands at Ibrox and will not need any extra spur from Samaras's comments.

 

The Greek international suggested Rangers would be unworthy champions but Smith insisted: "That's a poor motivation for anybody.

 

"Everybody in Scotland has opinions. We read them every day and we listen to them every day. It's just something that happens.

 

"If that's the player's opinion, then fine. I always say to players that's not a good motivation.

 

"If you have to grasp onto something else all the time, then that's not the proper motivation."

 

Smith enjoyed great success during his first spell at Ibrox, steering the club to their nine-in-a-row success in the late 1990s.

 

He returned at a time when the Ibrox club was in disarray following Paul Le Guen's disastrous 200-day tenure and now has the chance to end a period of Celtic dominance.

 

But Smith claims the weight of expectation is no greater this time around.

 

"I don't feel an added pressure," he explained. "I knew the expectations when I came back a second time.

 

"Even the first time, you know you are putting yourself in the position with a major club that you have to win. That's what you have to do.

 

"It's not an added pressure, it's just something that's there and you have to handle it."

 

Smith was also quick to refute suggestions that his future at Rangers will not be determined by whether they win the championship or not this weekend.

 

A final-day triumph could allow Smith to walk away from the dugout and take up a director of football role, while paving the way for his assistant Ally McCoist to take over

 

But the former Everton and Scotland boss was tight-lipped about the prospect of any changes taking place this summer.

 

"There has been a lot of talk about my own future," he said. "We will see.

 

"There is nothing that will happen in the next few days that will determine my future one way or another - unless the chairman says otherwise!"

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/8064341.stm