Smith Looking Forward To New Season

[ian1964 10,720]

Fifty-five days after skipping out of Hampden with the Scottish Cup under their arm, Rangers return to match action this evening in the rather less salubrious setting of the PGW Arena in western Germany.

 

In truth, not an awful lot has happened in the intervening period. There will be no new signings available to make their debuts in the friendly match against Sportfreunde Lotte, of the German fourth flight, and none expected to arrive during the squad's six-day stay on the continent.

 

There has also been little activity in the other direction, and certainly less than the club would have hoped and liked by this juncture.

 

Brahim Hemdani and Christian Dailly have not had their contracts renewed, Graeme Smith has escaped to St Johnstone before people forget who he is, and Barry Ferguson has been handed a once-in-a-lifetime shot at making it in the Barclays Premier League for the second time in his career.

 

Most significantly, the man in charge has not changed. Speculation that Walter Smith would elect to bow out after leading Rangers to a domestic double, and it was hard not to think of Danny Glover's exasperated character in the Lethal Weapon franchise as Smith wearily dealt with the fall-out from Bevvygate, proved to be unfounded.

 

Instead, Smith has returned for the sequel and another crack at the Champions League. Asked if he was "buzzing" ahead of the new season, the 61-year-old paused, stroked his stubbly chin, and searched for the right words.

 

He is not one prone to public displays of emotion, and certainly not Tigger-like enthusiasm, but there is little doubt that Smith is relishing the fresh challenges ahead.

 

"We're looking forward to our involvement in the Champions League again and being challengers for the other honours," he said.

 

"This is the first time we go in as champions. For most of the staff here, it will be the first time they've had to defend the championship and that's always harder.

 

"While the Old Firm always have difficult matches, the champions have to show up well and Celtic have always done that over the last few seasons.

 

"It's our turn to show we can handle that situation and that's a challenge for everyone here. It's my first time in that position since I came back so I'm looking forward to that aspect of it."

 

Financial necessity means Smith still needs to shed at least four more senior players from his squad but the windfall that comes with direct entry to the Champions League at least gives him control over who leaves the club.

 

It means that, in his third full season since returning to the club in January 2007, Smith feels he is finally getting close to creating a side that meets with his approval.

 

"It's starting to get there, domestically at least. The Champions League is a hard environment to play in and we'll need to make sure that we're right defensively. But domestically I feel we're getting a suitable level of player.

 

"If you look at our midfield, Kevin Thomson, Steven Davis, and Pedro Mendes, are all good footballers.

 

I would hope that would show in the level of football we're starting to play this season.

 

"I felt last season we were getting there and playing some decent football at times and I would hope we would see more of that this season."

 

The left side of midfield, however, remains a problem. Smith used more bodies than the cast of Ben-Hur in that position last season without finding a solution and admitted he is no nearer to resolving the matter ahead of the start of the new campaign.

 

"We're no closer to solving that." he said. "We've still got pretty much the same problem, players who can offer us a lot in one sense and not a lot in another.

 

"It's getting the balance from somebody who can play out there.

 

If we were looking at the squad, that's maybe an area where we were short of somebody to come in and give us a reasonable balance. So we're just going to have to keep going as we have been, where a number of boys will be used depending on the situation."

 

While Smith can not call upon any new signings for the time being, he is looking forward to the return of Thomson from injury, and seeing more from Steven Naismith too.

 

"Thommo is back and he will be playing but it will still be September before he is fully match fit. He won't play a full 90 minutes until then.

 

"He's with us in Germany and will train and play half an hour here and there. But he's not ready for a full 90 minutes.

 

"That said, he's looking good, as is Stevie Naismith. He had a similar injury and has missed a lot of football.

 

"It's always more difficult to come back during a season but he is looking terrific at the moment. His fitness is first class and he's a player I'm looking forward to getting back.

 

"The one thing I'm really looking forward to this season is the progression, not just in the team but in the individuals as well."

 

Across the city at Celtic, the summer has brought about a raft of changes, most notably in the manager's office where Tony Mowbray has replaced Gordon Strachan.

 

Smith, though, does not expect the size of the challenge to increase or diminish as a result.

 

"I don't think it will be that much different. Tony will have his own stamp of how he wants to play but Celtic were extremely successful under Gordon Strachan so the challenge is always going to be there.

 

"When you look before I came, Rangers hadn't been challenging for a couple of seasons beforehand, so there had to be a change. Celtic didn't win the championship, so a change of personnel was made.

 

"So the challenge will be every bit as great as has been in recent years. Celtic haven't lost a lot of players and have brought in a few. We look forward to accepting that challenge as champions."

 

That challenge can wait for a few weeks yet. For now, the immediate focus is on the week's work in Germany and subsequent matches against FC Nuremburg and SC Wiedenbruck after tonight's season opener.

 

"We want to keep everyone at the group at a specific level as much as we can and want to give them a specific amount of playing time in the three games. So we'll see quite a few changes in each of the games.

 

"It's proved to be a good exercise for us when we're away. It wasn't so clever last year because the group wasn't ready for it but the previous year we enjoyed it and we're looking forward to it this year. We should see a far fresher squad now than we saw at this time last year."

 

And a fresher manager too, it seems.

[Gribz 846]

There will be no new signings available to make their debuts

 

I wonder when was the last time we had no new signings over a summer to make a debut!

 

I certainly cant remember any in 20+ years supporting Rangers.

[gisabeer 409]

Smiths looking forward to the new season?

 

Must have got a season book for Real Madrid for his birthday!