Source: Team_Talk
Smith: No excuse for Hibs loss
Walter Smith admits he may have asked too much of Rangers recently - but insists there were no excuses for their 3-0 defeat to Hibs at Ibrox.[LNB] Goals from Liam Miller, John Rankin and Francis Dickoh sealed the shock win for Hibs and inflicted a first SPL defeat of the season on the Scottish champions.[LNB]The reverse follows the recent draw against newly-promoted Inverness at the same venue at a time when Rangers face a gruelling schedule as they attempt to juggle domestic duties with their Champions League commitments.[LNB]Asked if fatigue was a factor, Smith said: "You can always use tiredness but it's not an excuse. You have to give credit to Hibs for the manner in which they played. That's the main aspect.[LNB]"Over the last four or five games, I've maybe asked too much of too many, I should maybe have changed the team around a little bit.[LNB]"We didn't have the required sharpness to break down a Hibs team who were playing exceptionally well.[LNB]"At the end of the day, we've got no complaints. Hibs played very well and worked very hard on the evening and deserved their win."[LNB]Celtic also lost to Hearts as Rangers retained their single point advantage at the summit but Smith took little comfort from the events at Tynecastle.[LNB]He said: "That's not got much to do with it. I've said before that teams will drop points.[LNB]"After the first quarter of the season we have lost one game and drawn one and that's a fairly normal situation to be in. We obviously don't want it and we certainly didn't want to lose tonight's game.[LNB]"We've had warnings, in the previous home match against Inverness we were very similar in that we had a lot of possession of the ball but the required edge was missing.[LNB]"That's something we have to adjust and, from my side of things, I've maybe been a little bit slow to change the team around."[LNB]Maurice Edu and Sasa Papac were both stretchered off, adding to Rangers' woes on the night.[LNB]Smith said: "Sasa Papac is fairly straightforward, he has 10 stitches above his eye. We don't know how bad Edu is. He has taken a knock on the knee but how bad it is we won't know for maybe a day or two."[LNB]The win was Colin Calderwood's first as Hibs manager and he wants more of the same against Motherwell at Easter Road at the weekend.[LNB]He said: "This was a terrific win. I wanted the win to be before now but it is a stand-out victory whenever you come to any of the Old Firm grounds and get anything, it's quite an occasion. It's one that I will remember for a long, long time.[LNB]"It's a momentous victory and there will be a few raised eyebrows all over the country, especially in England I would imagine.[LNB]"It's all about the weekend and what I really want is a performance that will have the fans on their feet, like they were at the end of this game. I want people to come back to Easter Road and enjoy a resurgent Hibernian team.[LNB]"This is a snapshot and we've got to make sure we turn it into a picture album."
