Source: Team_Talk
Smith: Old Firm jobs a huge honour
Bookmakers' favourite Paul Lambert has played down a return to the Hoops as manager, while Owen Coyle and Roberto Martinez rejected Celtic's advances before Mowbray was installed in the hotseat last summer.[LNB]Although results on the pitch have been superior to their rivals, Smith has also had his problems to endure, namely the financial uncertainty which continues to surround Rangers and has resulted in him and his backroom staff working without contracts since January.[LNB]But, as far as the Rangers boss is concerned, being asked to manage one of the Glasgow giants is still an honour most managers north of the border would jump at.[LNB]"Rangers and Celtic are two great clubs and it's a privilege to be asked to manage them," said Smith.[LNB]"You have to handle the circumstances but a lot of the boys in Scotland at the moment would do anything to get themselves into the circumstance of managing Rangers or Celtic.[LNB]"For me, I feel very fortunate, and I'm sure the boys at Celtic who have been asked to do the job feel exactly the same.[LNB]"They are great clubs. If we have circumstances to handle, we try to handle them as best we can."[LNB]Smith returned for a second spell at Rangers in January 2007 following a hugely successful period at Ibrox in the 1990s.[LNB]And, while conceding the media scrutiny is greater than ever, he believes the pressures are no more intense now than in the past, despite Mowbray's fate.[LNB]"A lot of aspects of the job are slightly different and there is greater media intensity now than there has been for some time," said Smith.[LNB]"When you look at yesterday, the Budget was sort of placed well into the background. That's a circumstance that has maybe changed but life at the Old Firm hasn't changed.[LNB]"If you look at any previous managers, if they haven't been doing well at Rangers or Celtic, they are asked to leave.[LNB]"That's the circumstance and that's what you have to live with. I don't think that has changed in recent times."[LNB]A humiliating[LNB]4-0 defeat at St Mirren proved to be Mowbray's final act as Celtic manager and he could not resist having a dig at Rangers for playing "negative football" in the aftermath of the shock result in Paisley.[LNB]But Smith claims he was not offended by the comments.[LNB]"Everybody else seemed to take that as offence," he said.[LNB]"I just look at teams across Europe who win leagues and normally the teams who win the leagues lose less goals and score more than anybody else. Currently, that's our situation.[LNB]"I would see that as a straightforward manager's job to try to achieve a good balance between attacking and defending.[LNB]"Tony made those comments but I don't take offence at anything at all."[LNB]Neil Lennon has taken over as interim manager at Celtic and has already expressed a desire to land the job permanently.[LNB]And Smith says he is looking forward to locking horns with the former Hoops skipper in the final Old Firm derby of the season.[LNB]He said: "Neil is getting his first opportunity to be in charge of a team and he's got himself an awkward situation just now to try and turn it around.[LNB]"But I'm sure he will give it his best shot.[LNB]"We look forward to the game against them."[LNB]Next up for Rangers is a visit to Hearts in the lunchtime kick-off tomorrow and the Scottish champions know, if their winning streak in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League continues, they could wrap up the title before the SPL split.[LNB]Smith said: "Last week it was the treble, now people are talking about us winning the league before the split.[LNB]"It doesn't matter when we win it, as long as we win it. That's the most important thing.[LNB]"I don't feel as though we are playing to our best level at the moment and if we can adjust that, we will be okay.[LNB]"But there is a lot of football still to be played and I keep stressing that to everyone."[LNB][LNB] Hearts v Rangers. Click here to bet.
