Smith proud of Gers efforts
15 May 2008 - 07:37:06
Rangers manager Walter Smith was full of pride in his players after their UEFA Cup run ended in a 2-0 final defeat by Zenit St Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium.
The Russian champions prevailed as a result of second-half goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyrianov, but Smith had nothing but praise for his Gers squad.
He commented: "I can't speak highly enough of the group of players that we have.
"I wouldn't think anyone including myself and the players would have thought that this season would have led to a European final.
"You have to give them credit for what they have achieved, 18 matches against a lot of good European sides and we still managed to get to the final.
"It's testimony to the way they have handled themselves, they have been fantastic and it's always a disappointment when it ends in defeat.
"We were disappointed to lose the game. I felt in the first half Zenit were the better side, but in the second half we came into it a little bit but lost a goal at a bad time for us.
"We are just very disappointed as it's been a very good campaign for us."
