Smith to continue without Rangers contract

Walter Smith will continue as Rangers manager without a contract as majority shareholder David Murray continues his efforts to sell the club, chief executive Martin Bain said Monday.

Bain told the club’s annual general meeting that Smith, whose current contract expires next month, would stay on without signing a new deal and that his assistant Ally McCoist and first-team coach Kenny McDowall would do likewise.

“We are lucky to have a management team who are all true Rangers supporters,” Bain said. “Walter, Ally and Kenny have agreed to work without contracts to protect the club from having a management team that new owners might not want.”

Rangers chairman Alastair Johnson meanwhile ruled out a sale of naming rights to the club’s Ibrox stadium, despite a 31-million-pound debt burden.

“Ibrox is non-negotiable,” Johnson said.