Rangers coach warns squad against complacency

Rangers coach Walter Smith is worried about complacency setting in after a laboured 2-0 win over ten-man Hearts took his side to within two points of a second straight title.

The win moves the Gers 11 points clear of Old Firm rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premier League with just four matches remaining.

The title is theirs if they defeat Hibernian at Easter Road next Sunday.

Rangers have had a double digit advantage at the top of the league since the beginning of March and at one stage the gap stood at 13 points.

With Celtic’s last minute winner against Hibernian on Saturday reducing their lead at the top nerves seemed to be on show from several Rangers players in the first-half against Hearts.

However, their half-time team talk seemed to inspire them and Kyle Lafferty put Rangers in front nine minutes after the interval when he bulleted a header past Jamie MacDonald.

Hearts were then reduced to ten-men six minutes from time when Eggert Jonsson received his marching for conceding a penalty which Kenny Miller duly dispatched.

Despite a second-half improvement Smith says his biggest fear is that his players have become too complacent because they believe the title is already wrapped up.

“People were asking me if the players were nervous – I think it is lack of nerves, especially in the first-half against Hearts,” the Rangers boss said.

“If we were under pressure to win our team have always reacted well.

“That pressure has come off them a little bit and it’s taken a little bit of an edge off our game. From about 10 games to go people have been telling us that we’re going to win the league championship.

“It’s a long spell when you consider most seasons. If you take last season for example we were trying to catch Celtic and we had to win on a continued basis to keep ourselves up there.

“This season it has been turned round and we have this situation where we have had a gap for the last few months and everybody thinks it is automatic that you will go and win the league except managers who kept saying it is not quite as easy as that.

“When you have that situation for so long it is a difficult thing for everyone to handle – players, supporters and managers – and you just wish you could get it over with.”

Smith’s side could even have won the title before they take to the pitch in Edinburgh next Sunday if Celtic fail to win against Dundee United in the early kick-off match.

But the Rangers boss said his side would not be relying on anyone else to help them clinch a record 53rd league title.

“When you are going to win a championship you always would look at your own results first and foremost and that’s what we will do,” Smith said.

“We go to Easter Road hoping to get a win there and that’s how we will approach it rather than anything else.”

Striker Miller’s penalty in the match was his 20th goal of the season and he was delighted to achieve a total he has only reached twice in his career before.

“It’s a milestone that is always thrown at strikers. Obviously I have fallen short of it quite a few times and it’s nice to get there but it is secondary to getting the three points and opening the all important gap,” the Scotland international said.

“Whether you are a secondary striker or any kind of front player you have always got to chip in with goals.

“The burden at the club has always fallen on Kris Boyd to chip in with 25 or 30 goals every season so it is nice for him to have somebody up there who has maybe chipped in a bit more than the 13 I got last year.”