Smith baffled by Weir's royal message

01 May 2011 12:00

Walter Smith claimed he had no knowledge of his captain David Weir's tribute to the Royal Wedding as Rangers romped to a 5-0 win at Motherwell in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Weir took to the field in a jersey embroidered with the slogan 'Congratulations William & Catherine 29th April 2011.' The act is technically in breach of FIFA regulations, which prevent players from making religious, political or personal statements.

Smith said afterwards: "I didn't know it was there. Sorry, I can't enlighten you at all. It must have been the kit man."

The Rangers boss would have been more interested in the action on the park as Kyle Lafferty, Steven Davis and Nikica Jelavic grabbed a goal apiece and Steven Naismith claimed a brace as the Scottish champions stretched their lead at the summit to four points.

Celtic face Dundee United on Sunday before travelling to Inverness in midweek for what could be a crucial game in hand.

Smith said: "It's good to have the points. The season's end is fairly straight-forward, I don't think there is any great complication.

"Each of us have to attempt to win the games we've got and that's not an unusual circumstance for the Old Firm. We will continue to try and put the pressure on Celtic by continuing to win. That's what we did and we are delighted with the outcome."

The emphatic victory also allowed Rangers to slash the goal difference between themselves and Celtic to three. Rangers were leading by just one goal at half-time and Motherwell boss Stuart McCall was horrified by his team's capitulation in the second half.

He said: "We are really, really disappointed. We didn't see that coming. I don't think anyone could have seen that coming before the game and certainly not at half-time.

"The last 30 minutes were embarrassing. It's embarrassing the fact you get beat 5-0 at home, that should never happen. It's not even acceptable to go away to the Old Firm and get beat like that, but it's understandable if they're playing really well. But not on your own patch."

Source: PA