Walter Smith-Interview

[ian1964 10,720]

Sunday mail:

 

 

The thought of leaving Rangers after our double win did cross my mind, says Walter Smith

 

IBROX lies silent. It's the calm after - and before - the storm.

 

Not an echo of the euphoria that filled it six weeks ago, not a hint of the elation to come in another six weeks when the flag runs up the pole.

 

The Blue Room at the top of the marble staircase lies dormant, set up for a wedding.

 

Through the door, though? In a oak-panelled office reeking of history and basking in sunshine, Walter Smith is looking like a man who is still enjoying his second honeymoon.

 

And nothing like a man many thought would have walked off into the sunset on May 31 as either a Double-winner or two-time title loser.

 

Relaxed, tanned, rested ... and ready. In his first interview since winning the SPL and Scottish Cup in his second full season back, Smith reveals the idea of walking away at the top DID cross his mind.

 

But deep down the 61-year-old knew his time wasn't up - and he didn't want to leave the staff he brought with him in the lurch.

 

Despite the heart-attack high of Gers' last-day victory - and seven titles from his first spell as boss - he will walk back through the doors of Murray Park on Thursday hungry to do it all over again.

 

Walter admitted: "When you get over the 60 mark it's a relevant question, whether or not you walk. Yes, it crosses your mind.

 

"But I would have been more likely to leave after losing. What kind of person walks because of an image? That you want to be SEEN to be going out at the top? I don't have that kind of ego.

 

"If I turn round and say I'm off? They will say: 'Great, you've reached a European final and won four trophies in two-and-a-half years. Thanks.' And that's it.

 

"What does that mean to me in the end? I'm here for a challenge.

 

"I know what it feels like when your time is up. It happened when I was here for seven years and it was time for a change. A team completely died.

 

"I won't manage for seven years now but when is the time to go? It will be when I feel I don't have as much to offer - or when my team's not good enough and I take responsibility. That's not now."

 

Smith's moral compass was also pointing him back towards work.

 

He has absolute faith that the legacy he has put in place in the Rangers dugout, Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall, would cope in his absence.

 

But with Rangers still struggling financially Walter doesn't want to throw his sidekicks straight into a firefight without big enough guns.

 

He said: "If I walked out I would feel as though I was leaving other people with a problem. And I have to be fair to my staff.

 

"Ally, Kenny, Jim Stewart, Adam Owen and Pip Yeats make up a great staff.

 

"If I leave - and I stress this isn't my decision - I would like to think the chairman would consider Ally taking over. But in the circumstances it would feel like I was leaving them with issues.

 

"It's not just that though. When I returned people were saying: 'You won nine-in-a-row so why would you come back?' "The simple answer is people in football want to achieve. It was a challenge - and one I feel we have met."

 

It's also one that he will instantly have to meet again - or face exactly the same Groundhog Day grilling about his future.

 

Smith shrugged: "That's the Old Firm.

 

You can win every year but then you have to do it again the following year.

 

"All the managers I know have a competitive spirit - that keeps us going. If it's golf, or whatever, you want to win.

 

"You need to have goals. If you lose that as you get older, fine, but I still have it.

 

"Davie Weir once made a great point. If he makes a mistake now people say it is because he's 38 or 39. But Davie made the same mistakes at 28 or 29. What was it then?

 

"It's the same for me - it doesn't just switch off one day. You will get a feeling but that's not now."

 

The change in Smith and Rangers from this time last year is tangible.

 

After a 68-game season and a break of less than a month he saw the black cloud sitting above his squad before the heavens opened on their darkest day in Kaunas.

 

This time there isn't a cloud in sight.

 

Nineteen games fewer played, a six-week sabbatical and the walk-on-water lightness of step that graces a winner.

 

Smith admitted: "It feels different. Last summer we knew how difficult it was going to be. Liverpool thrashed us in a friendly and we were lucky to beat Raith Rovers.

 

"We weren't good enough. This year it's so different. The season ended on a high and we've had a break that feels like the kind you used to get 30 years ago."

 

And Smith is desperate to harvest what he has sown - especially when the shoots were so visible at the end of the season.

 

He said: "People say I never play kids but I've tried to get a solid base of young Scots to benefit the club.

 

"That takes time. If you buy a seasoned professional they will settle at Rangers or Celtic.

 

"But it's different for younger guys. Look at Steven Whittaker. In my mind he was our most consistent player from January.

 

"But previously he struggled dealing with the demands of the crowd and everything else.

 

"That's what you're up against. I read one pundit telling me Kyle Lafferty was a bad buy and six months later saying if I don't play him we won't win the league!

 

"Kevin Thomson was starting to dictate games before his injury while Steven Naismith has been unlucky.

 

"But he will still be a very good Rangers player. Maurice Edu came in and did so well.

 

"We have a good base of young players. We won't have a big-name buy but this team can be successful.

 

"This side is as capable, if not more so, than the Rangers team that played in the Champions League and UEFA Cup two years ago."

[Super_Ally 0]

"We have a good base of young players. We won't have a big-name buy but this team can be successful.

 

"This side is as capable, if not more so, than the Rangers team that played in the Champions League and UEFA Cup two years ago."

 

I hope that is borne out in the results achieved in the Champions League group stage. Though in a title winning season this time. :spl:

 

Interesting that Smith thought Whittaker was the most consistent performer since January.

[Gribz 846]

Good read. Nice to see he is hungry and I liked the comments about if he walked out its like leaving other people the problems. That says a lot when he didnt really create any of the cash problems.

 

"If I turn round and say I'm off? They will say: 'Great, you've reached a European final and won four trophies in two-and-a-half years. Thanks.' And that's it.

 

That does make impressive reading!!!

 

Like SAlly says, interesting he thought Whittaker was the most consistant player since january. He wouldnt have been my pick. Mind you he doesnt say the best player since January!