Smith worried about lack of depth

Rangers manager Walter Smith fears suspensions and injuries could turn their season into a struggle. Smith has lost five players this summer after key pair Kris Boyd and Kevin Thomson departed to Middlesbrough with Stevie Smith, DaMarcus Beasley and Nacho Novo also moving on. The 62-year-old, who is entering what he insists will be his last season as a manager, saw a bid to buy his first player for more than two years fail last week when Burnley winger Chris Eagles rejected an Ibrox move. And the Rangers manager is increasingly concerned about the depth of his squad as he bids to win a third successive Clydesdale Bank Premier League title. "Injuries and suspensions are what worry me right now and more than ever before," said Smith ahead of his squad`s pre-season tour of Australia. "In fact, they are what worry me most as I look towards the new season. "We still have a strong base of a team and if one or two more could be added that would be great. "But when you are running with a small squad it`s the number of injuries and suspensions that hit you harder. "You have to factor in the European football and the matches some of the boys will be playing with their national sides in the first part of the season. I can only hope that doesn`t take its toll." Smith, whose side will play Blackburn, Sydney and AEK Athens on their pre-season tour of Australia, added: "We just have to do everything we can to make sure everyone stays as fit as possible, but we have to keep a certain level of discipline in our play as well. "In fairness to players, there are a lot of times when they get yellow cards for doing very little. But I will be stressing to every player the need to avoid cards. "If we can keep as many as possible fit and out of trouble with refs then we will be as competitive as we have been in the past."

Source: PA