Rangers boss proud of players
Rangers manager Walter Smith says he is proud of his players as they have performed so well that he believes most people have forgotten about the financial difficulties the club is facing.
The Scottish Premier League champions are currently at the top of the table, three points ahead of title rivals Celtic.
They are also still in with a chance of progressing to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League if they can grind out a positive result against English Premier League giants Manchester United at Ibrox on Wednesday 24 November.
As a result, Smith has praised his players for their performances and insisted that while his occasionally defensive tactics may not be pleasing on the eye, the way his men have carried out his instructions has brought rewards. He added that his squad's
commitment to the cause was a key factor in helping the side succeed so far this season.
According to The Guardian, Smith said: "(The players) have taken a bit of criticism along the way for the way that they have played and that was maybe justified a lot of the time in terms of not being so pleasing on the eye but nobody can dispute their determination
to play for this club. And that has seen them through a whole lot of games.
"It has also seen them through a whole lot of financial difficulties. They have played so well that everyone is forgetting that we are in the midst of financial turmoil. It is to the players' credit that they have managed to make people forget all about
that."
Meanwhile, Smith is likely to be forced into deploying a more offensive formation in the United game as a result of Sasa Papac's failure to recover from concussion in time. Smith regularly opts for a 5-4-1 outline for European games, but will have to be
a little more ambitious against the Red Devils.
He said: “We've run out of defenders, so it will obviously mean a change for us. That formation has obviously been good in terms of achieving better results in the tournament. So it is a bit of a blow to us, having to change it at this stage.”
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