Smith savours double

Rangers manager Walter Smith believes this season’s double triumph is among his greatest achievements in football.

Smith led Rangers to their first Clydesdale Bank Premier League title in four years before topping the season off with a Homecoming Scottish Cup victory over Falkirk.

The 61-year-old clinched seven titles in his first spell as Rangers manager, and although he admits securing their ninth title on the trot was the pinnacle of his career, he believes lifting the Ibrox side out of the doldrums ranks highly.

A second season without a trophy was already ensured when Smith took over in January 2007, but since then he has won four trophies and come second in three other competitions, including the UEFA Cup.

The SPL triumph looked unlikely when Celtic led the way by seven points so Smith has savoured this season’s success.

“The nine-in-a-row thing, when you consider it was only the second time it had happened, is maybe something that has to have a whole set of circumstances to conspire for any team to achieve that,” Smith said.

“This time was slightly different. We were taking over a team who were behind Celtic in the league championship and hadn’t been doing well at all, and had to lift them.

“I think winning the championship this season was probably, if anything, one of the best achievements.

“That’s probably because last season we felt we were on the way to doing that and lost out in the final spell.

“This time we clinched the championship in the final spell so there is obviously a delight among us that we managed to do that.”

He added: “It was a difficult season in many ways but a lot of hard work has been put in by an awful lot of people.

“When you’re sitting at the end with two trophies, it’s effectively why we are here and what we’re all about – to try to win as much as we possibly can.”

Smith revealed Rangers will sit down with 39-year-old defender David Weir in the coming days to discuss a one-year extension to his contract.

However, Christian Dailly and Brahim Hemdani have both moved on after their deals expired.