Smith stresses importance of Sporting clash

16 February 2011 15:30
Rangers manager Walter Smith insists there is no chance of him fielding a weakened team against Sporting Lisbon despite a crucial Old Firm derby looming this weekend. The Scottish champions host Sporting in the last 32 of the Europa League at Ibrox on Thursday, before making the short trip to the east end of Glasgow to face Celtic in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League on Sunday. But, as Rangers continue to battle on four fronts for silverware, Smith refused to prioritise the competitions his side are involved in, while stressing how seriously he is taking the challenge of their Portuguese visitors. "It's an important game on Sunday but this one is an important game too," he said. "We don't enter tournaments to lose them. We want to do as well as we possibly can. "We didn't start out in the Europa League, we started out in the Champions League and were unable to stay in the Champions League. We are in the Europa League and we want to do as well as we can."

Source: PA