Source: Team_Talk
Smith urges Rangers to finish job
Steven Davis grabbed the only goal of the game in the final Old Firm derby of the season to allow the Ibrox side to overtake Celtic and move two points clear of their arch-rivals at the summit.
With just three games remaining, Rangers will now be favourites to claim the silverware and end three years of dominance from Gordon Strachan's men.
Rangers had been seven points clear in early April last year but a crippling fixture list as they chased a quadruple contributed to their downfall as Celtic retained their crown on the final day.
This time around, Smith believes there is nothing to stand in Rangers' way and threw down the gauntlet to his side to end the Hoops' quest for a fourth successive championship.
He said: "We are delighted to have the situation that we're in at the present moment and hopefully we can take advantage of it.
"We were in a good position last year and we had a fixture pile-up, which didn't help us at all.
"We don't have that this year so we have to show that we have the ability to go on and take the championship.
"We are on a good run of form just now and I've been really pleased with how some of the boys have been playing. Hopefully we can continue that."
Davis netted the decisive goal after 37 minutes of what Smith now concedes was a game with massive stakes.
He said: "If we want to win a league championship, we were in a position where we had to win or else we were depending on other teams to help us in that quest. Now we can depend on ourselves, which is what we would want.
"I'm pleased with the result and I'm really pleased with the way the team played overall. The amount of work they put into the game was excellent.
"There wasn't too much between the teams and I was delighted when we got our noses in front in the first half.
"Celtic had better possession of the ball at the start of the second half but, credit to our boys, we only really looked as though we would lose a goal from a set-piece and we managed to handle that throughout the game.
"I'm absolutely delighted that we managed to win, just a little bit disappointed that we didn't make it a little less nervy for ourselves in the last few minutes of the game when we missed a couple of opportunities. But I'm obviously delighted with the result."
Rangers travel to Hibernian on Wednesday before playing host to Aberdeen and facing a trip to Tannadice on the final day.
Smith concedes both halves of the Old Firm are still capable of dropping points but, with seven wins on the trot, has every faith in his players.
"It's always a possibility," he said. "But I can only look from my own point of view and say that we're pleased with the way we have been playing.
"We've managed to win matches after being hit by injury, suspension, etc. Hopefully the attitude we have shown in games can see us through the last three."
Rangers have not had their problems to seek recently, most notably the Scotland 'Boozegate' scandal, which saw Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor banned from the club and Ferguson stripped of the captaincy.
But, as far as Smith is concerned, one key element has remained throughout the campaign.
"There is a desire within the team to win," he said.
"We've had a few problems to overcome throughout the season and we've had quite a number of problems to overcome in recent months.
"But we have come out of that with three games remaining and we are in a good position, and that's what we want.
