Source: Team_Talk
Euro security boost for Gers boss
The Ibrox side fell at the first hurdle last summer when they were sent crashing out of Europe by Lithuanian minnows FBK Kaunas.
The early European exit clearly had major financial implications for the club, who admitted in January they may be forced to offload one of their key players to balance the books.
The sale of top goalscorer Kris Boyd fell through when he failed to agree personal terms with Birmingham but fans feared losing key personnel in the summer.
However, Sunday's title triumph means the newly-crowned Scottish champions have a £10million Champions League windfall to look forward to, as well as another crack at the continental stage.
Smith said: "We were disappointed to go out in Kaunas and I think that was a hangover from the previous season.
"We weren't good enough on the day and we went out and that was really disappointing.
"It was a very difficult thing to overcome and it took us a couple of months to get up and started in the season and play at any decent level. Once we got started, we settled down a little bit.
"The obvious delight after that experience is that we don't have a qualifying game this time and that's a big thing."
Goals from Kyle Lafferty, Pedro Mendes and Boyd sealed the 3-0 win against Dundee United that secured the title on what turned out to be a reasonably comfortable afternoon for Rangers.
Smith said: "I thought we played exceptionally well and got goals at the right time in the game.
"Everyone at the club knew we needed a big performance from this game and you saw right from the start that's what we were going to get.
"When you see your team start like that, it alleviates a lot of the worry that you have as a manager."
Celtic's own goalless stalemate with Hearts at Parkhead meant Rangers clinched the crown by four points - a statistic Smith admits he thought impossible after falling seven points adrift of their rivals back in December.
He said: "Celtic's consistency over the last few seasons meant it was going to be a tall order for us.
"But we turned that around and won the league by four points, which is a big thing for us.
"I didn't think at that stage we would be able to do that.
"We've only lost one game since that time - when we lost in the last minute to Inverness - and that was a blemish for us that we could have been doing without.
"But they (the players) have more than made up for it with the consistency they have shown."
