Rangers keen to add to Sporting strife

24 February 2011 08:30
Walter Smith believes there is one major difference between Rangers and Sporting Lisbon ahead of Thursday's Europa League tie - knowing what the future holds for their respective managers. Smith is set to quit the Scottish champions at the end of the season and the club this week revealed he will be replaced at the helm by his assistant Ally McCoist in the summer. In contrast, there appears to be plenty of doubt over the position of Sporting coach Paulo Sergio, with the Portuguese press widely reporting he will be sacked if his team crash out of the competition, while club bosses have given him a vote of confidence. "When you look at both clubs, they have had difficult situations over the last few seasons," said Smith. "Sporting lost a couple of players in the summer that they wanted to keep and they lost their top goalscorer [Liedson] in the transfer window in January, which we did as well with Kenny Miller. "The clubs have similar circumstances and, as coaches, we have to try to handle the circumstances as best we possibly can. I'm sure that's happening at Sporting at the moment. "The one difference between myself and my colleague at Sporting is that I am leaving at the end of the season and he doesn't know unfortunately."

Source: PA