Smith salutes depleted Rangers

14 November 2010 11:37
Rangers manager Walter Smith praised his threadbare side for producing the goods against Aberdeen as his injury worries continue to mount.[LNB] He was able to name just six substitutes for Saturday's visit of the Dons in the Scottish Premier League clash, with Maurice Edu and Sasa Papac already ruled out and Kyle Lafferty a late addition to the injury list.[LNB]Steven Naismith and Kirk Broadfoot are now nursing knocks after the 2-0 win at Ibrox, with Smith still waiting to learn whether Naismith will be a doubt for Scotland's friendly against the Faroe Islands on Tuesday.[LNB]He said: "Steven Naismith got a nasty knock on his shoulder in the last minutes of the game and Kirk Broadfoot got a kick on the foot that had been causing him a problem a few weeks ago.[LNB]"The physios are looking at them and I'm not quite sure how they are. I'll have to wait and see.[LNB]"We've got quite a few injuries, not just to the more recognised first-team squad. Our younger group also has one or two injuries as well.[LNB]"Kyle Lafferty got injured in training yesterday so we were a little bit depleted but our group responded very well and I felt they played well. We introduced one or two players and John Fleck came in and had a good game.[LNB]"So, from our own point of view, we've got to be pleased with the way we managed to handle it."[LNB]Edu is expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks after a scan on his knee but Lafferty is not a major concern, with a crucial Champions League game against Manchester United looming this month.[LNB]Smith added: "We've got a week's break now and I hope that some of the injuries will clear up.[LNB]"Kyle Lafferty was just a knock on the foot and he should be fit for the next game. That kind of thing will start to fall into place.[LNB]"Sometimes, when they mount up it becomes a little bit of a problem and that was the problem today, but we managed to handle it very well."[LNB]Goals from Kenny Miller and Vladimir Weiss sealed the win that allowed Rangers to move four points clear at the top of the SPL, with Miller also failing to convert from the penalty spot.[LNB]The victory was not as emphatic as Celtic's 9-0 thrashing of the Dons last week but Smith claims a repeat of the events at Parkhead was never likely to happen at Ibrox.[LNB]He said: "If you are involved in a game like last week's, whether on the management side or playing side, you are going to make sure a scoreline like that doesn't happen again.[LNB]"Today's game, the way it went, wasn't unexpected. We expected Aberdeen to play in a manner that we do ourselves in the European games so you are always pleased to get a breakthrough.[LNB]"I was pleased with the way we went about the game today and just happy that we managed to win."[LNB]Dons boss Mark McGhee - who was given a vote of confidence from the board after a days of speculation about his future - claims he did not approach the game against Rangers with trepidation but believes his players should have done better.[LNB]He said: "I was still looking forward to coming here after the week we've had, I wasn't wishing it away.[LNB]"I wanted to see what would happen, how they would react. We had no fears about the game today, we came here in a positive frame of mind, regardless of what anybody thinks.[LNB]"We answered the spirit question again. I said after last week that I had no doubt that what happened had nothing to do with a lack of spirit or people throwing in the towel, and I think we showed that.[LNB]"But, as individuals and as a team, we can play a lot better than we showed today."

Source: Team_Talk