Smith Has To Win The Spl To Win Over Ibrox Boo Boys

Aug 10 2008 Andy Walker

JUST weeks after leading his team to a UEFA Cup Final the totally inept showing from Walter Smith's side in the 2-1 loss to Kaunas has now severely divided the Rangers fans in their opinion of the manager.

Talk of Smith being sacked sounds absurd but he'll be the first to understand how brutal management can be - especially in Glasgow.

Even as he was challenging on four fronts last season Smith was still subject to fierce criticism from some fans and he obviously understood the possible consequences of it.

He said: "The manager normally leaves when you've got a lot of dissatisfied supporters."

During one press conference, when talk of a quadruple was still on the cards, Smith had this to say of the boo-boys: "If they continue to be unhappy then there's only one thing that happens, isn't there?

After taking over froma beleaguered Paul Le Guen, Smith steadied the ship and quickly brought a winning mentality back to the club.

But the Ibrox crowd has started to turn against Smith and most believe his cautious style of play was one of the main reasons Rangers failed to overcome a poor Kaunas side over two legs in the Champions League qualifier.

And let's be honest, despite their march to the UEFA Cup Final, Rangers were awful to watch last season and if the punters don't like it they're perfectly entitled to voice their opinion.

The truth is, the only way Smith can survive this crisis is if he wins the title. In the modern era no one avoids the sack in Glasgow if you finish second two years in a row.

To the fans, and to David Murray, second is useless and, as brutal as it is, you pay for that failure with your job.

Forget the nonsense that Murray doesn't sack managers.

If it's not working out, no matter how successful the manager has been previously, Murray is like every other chairman - he'll pull the trigger.

Dick Advocaat, Alex McLeish and Le Guen all left Rangers because they were second best to Celtic.

In the glory years, Smith saw off Liam Brady, Lou Macari and Tommy Burns as the titles rolled in.

He knows how it all works.

Once he had restored Scotland's credibility after the Berti Vogts debacle, Smith was the easy answer for Murray.

He was a God in the eyes of the majority of Gers fans but now there are thousands who think he's past it.

The problem Smith has with his 4-5-1 formation is that it wins him games but doesn't win him any friends.

But it's not the formation to blame for the lack of flair in Smith's side, it's the players within it who can't deliver.

Alex Ferguson uses 4-5-1 all the time but with players who have the ability to make the system work properly.

Manchester United look terrific when their players flood forward and they are experts at breaking quickly and exploiting the wide areas of the park.

But ultimately if the Gers players aren't good enough that too comes back to the manager. That's his job.

Rangers are not easy on the eye and their fans must look around at other SPL clubs and wonder why they don't have someone who can get them on the edge of their seat.

For example, Hearts' Laryea Kingston and Falkirk's Russell Latapy can create things and pass a ball with imagination.

Over at Parkhead, Celtic have Shunsuke Nakamura and Aiden McGeady - top-class talents who have won Player of the Year awards in the last two seasons.

If Smith and Murray are listening, they must hear the demand from thousands of Gers fans for more flair, craft and guile at Ibrox.

I doubt the change will happen overnight though. One loss, however catastrophic, won't change the manager's cautious mindset.

But before this transfer window closes the fans desperately need to see something to give them hope.

How Murray handles the immediate future of Carlos Cuellar, Smith's most successful buy, will be critical.

The Spaniard (below) is a wanted man and if Gers receive a bid of anywhere near the £9million they got for Alan Hutton then I reckon they'll sell.

Rangers aren't in the business of knocking back that kind of money, especially now this year's budget has been blown out of the water.

The future of Rangers' season will be clearer before the month is out.

After Falkirk yesterday, Hearts, Aberdeen and Celtic are next.

If Rangers are at the top of the SPL after all that, I'm convinced the fans will think the title is a reasonable goal.

If they're adrift, what little patience they have will quickly go.

Just hours after Gers go to Celtic Park the transfer window will shut and by then the fans will have a good idea of where their club is going this season.

My view is that it's not going to work out for Smith in his second spell at Rangers and I only hope when the time comes he's able to leave Ibrox with a bit of dignity.

After everything he's achieved for the club, he doesn't deserve it all to end with jeers ringing in his ears.