Walter is jealous of rivals' European campaign

Sep 21 2008 By Gordon Waddell

WALTER SMITH last night admitted he was jealous watching Motherwell's Euro adventure on Thursday.

Gers have had their passports locked away for the season since their Champions League horror show in Kaunas last month.

But as Smith ran the rule over this afternoon's opponents while they clung on grimly for a 1-0 defeat in Nancy it rammed home the consequences of that defeat.

The Gers boss sighed: "I watched Motherwell on Thursday night and was a wee bit jealous of them. The week in general has been agony for us.

"But it was a good result and gives thema real chance of going through. That's what you want from a first leg so they can look forward to an exciting European night in a couple of weeks.

"Motherwell are not short on confidence anyway though. They had a good season and deserved their place in Europe.

"All our games against them were good and close last season. This year won't be any different.

"They have a good work ethic and Mark McGhee doesn't just deserve credit for their results, changing the whole psychology of a club isn't easy and he did it in a short space of time."

Smith hasn't let his side dwell on their Euro disaster though - and he believes they've actually built from it. He said: "I'm happy with our form now after our poor performances earlier in the campaign, including pre-season games and our European escapade.

"We've started to play in a slightly different manner to last season. The challenge is the same - to keep it going.

There's always that question mark but we are trainingwell and focusing on the games."

Meanwhile, luckless full back-Stevie Smith is on the comeback trail again.

Walter said: "He was faced with the possibility of another op but didn't want to do it unless absolutely necessary. He's running again but it will be a few weeks before he's back."