David Murray: I'll Give Walter £10m War Chest To Strengthen Rangers Side

Mar 23 2008 By Mark Guidi

Murray Hands Walter His War Chest

RANGERS boss Walter Smith will be handed a minimum s10million transfer war chest this summer.

Smith has spent around s12m on 14 players since returning for a second spell at Ibrox 15 months ago.

And chairman Sir David Murray is set to back his manager with more cash in a bid to make sure the turnaround under Smith continues.

Murray said: "We've won the League Cup and are still involved in three other competitions. It has been a marvellous season and extremely eventful.

"It has been memorable in terms of how we've turned things around from last season. Remember we were losing to St Johnstone and Dunfermline.

"I hope we have at least one more trophy on the table at the end of the season. Don't forget this is a new team but I feel we are on the way up as a club and we want to keep moving forward. Funds will be available to Walter and we will look at quality rather than quantity.

"Walter had several million to spend in January and chose not to. But we will strengthen the squad in the summer."

Murray also praised Smith for cleaning up the mess left behind by previous manager Paul Le Guen.

He said: "Walter has been excellent and it shows you can't buy experience.

"We also can't forget the input of Alistair McCoist and Kenny McDowall. They are unsung heroes."

Murray also insisted plans for a s700m super stadium are on schedule and an announcement is expected in early May.

He said: "My reputation is on the line. We have strong interest from investors, funders and partners. One option is to increase Ibrox's capacity but this is going to be an events centre not just a stadium.

"The revenue from football may only be about 20 per cent."