Smith hails battling Rangers

Rangers manager Walter Smith praised the battling spirit of his players after they emerged from a gruelling week with their 100% record in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League intact. The Scottish champions battled from behind to snatch a late win against Hearts, having defeated Bursaspor in the Champions League midweek and staged a similar comeback at Aberdeen last Sunday. Rudi Skacel provided Hearts with a first half opener, before Kyle Lafferty came off the bench to level late on and Steven Naismith, who netted the only goal against the Turks, bagged the winner deep into injury time. "It was a big week for everyone having the three games in six days," said Smith. "We've had two away games at Pittodrie and Tynecastle, which are not the easiest places for any team. I'm delighted we managed to get the win, albeit a late one. "The players did extremely well today and they got what they deserved in the end. We controlled most of the game territorially and had by far the most attempts at goal. "A team doesn't win the championship without an element of pride, they are not going to sit back and accept defeat and there was no acceptance of that. I felt we dictated most of the play, we had most of the possession and most of the attempts on goal."

Source: PA