Source: Team_Talk
Title won't decide my future - Smith
Victory over Dundee United on Sunday would guarantee Rangers the SPL title and finally end Celtic's dominance of Scottish football.
A final-day triumph would also allow Smith to walk away from the Ibrox side in a blaze of glory knowing his second spell at the helm has ended in success.
His assistant, Ally McCoist, has long been tipped to take over the hotseat, with Smith expected to take on a director of football role at the club.
But the veteran boss was remaining tight-lipped about the prospect of any changes taking place this summer.
"There has been a lot of talk about my own future," he said.
"We will see.
"There is nothing that will happen in the next few days that will determine my future one way or another - unless a chairman says otherwise!"
Smith's place in the Rangers history books was secure after masterminding the 'Nine in a Row' success of the late '90s and some might say he took a gamble by returning to Ibrox for a second spell.
He took over at a time when the club was in disarray following Paul Le Guen's disastrous 200-day rein and was seen by chairman Sir David Murray and fans alike as a safe pair of hands.
But, on the eve of a game which could have major football and
financial implications for Rangers, Smith claims the weight of expectation is no greater this time around.
"I don't feel an added pressure," he said. "I knew the expectations when I came back a second time.
"Even the first time, you know you are putting yourself in the position with a major club that you have to win. That's what you have to do.
"It's not an added pressure, it's just something that's there and you have to handle it."
Smith is confident his players are also aware of the demands at a club like Rangers and sees no need to pin comments made by Georgios Samaras on the dressing room wall on Sunday.
The striker stoked the flames ahead of the weekend action by claiming Celtic were the better team and that Rangers would be unworthy champions.
But Smith insisted: "That's a poor motivation for anybody.
"Everybody in Scotland has opinions. We read them every day and we listen to them every day. It's just something that happens.
"If that's the player's opinion, then fine. I always say to players that's not a good motivation.
"The motivation to win a championship comes from within. It comes from within a player or a manager. That's good motivation.
"If you have to grasp onto something else all the time, then that's not the proper motivation."
With few of the current squad possessing the experience of winning a title, Barry Ferguson could earn himself a starting role at Tannadice in what could yet be his final game for Rangers.
The deposed skipper came off the bench against Aberdeen last week to make his first appearance since his involvement in the 'Boozegate' affair which saw him stripped of the captaincy and banned for a fortnight by the club.
He has been linked with moves to England, Australia and the Middle East but could yet have a major part to play at Rangers.
"He's fit enough to start now," said Smith. "He was fit enough to start last week but we gave him a few days extra.
"He missed the Hibs game when he might have been ready to play.
"He's fit enough to start on Sunday if required. Will he? You'll have to wait and see.
"Any player who is experienced at winning championships - and we don't have that many of them - would help."
