Smith: Gers deserve final flight
by Tom Adams, 30 April 2008
Rangers ‘deserve’ a place in the Uefa Cup final on May 14 for all their efforts in European competition this season, according to manager Walter Smith.
The Gers have travelled to Italy to face Fiorentina on Thursday night having drawn 0-0 in the first leg of their semi-final tie and a place in the final at Manchester City’s Eastlands is now within touching distance.
Rangers’ European odyssey began with Champions League qualifiers against Crvena Zvezda and FK Zeta at the start of the season, and after being eliminated from the group stages of that competition they have beaten Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen and Sporting to reach the last four of the Uefa Cup.
Having expended so much energy and effort in their expeditions across the continent, Smith feels his players are worthy of the reward of a place in the final alongside either Zenit St Petersburg or Bayern Munich.
“For all their effort, the boys deserve to go to the final now,” Smith told the club’s official website.
“They have worked exceptionally hard and it would be great if we could make it.
“It will not be easy but we have shown this season that we can score away and hopefully we can do it again.”
Forward Lee McCulloch will not play against Fiorentina as he continues his comeback from a foot injury but the former Wigan man is hoping of making a brief comeback before the end of the season.
McCulloch believes he will be capable of making a cameo appearance in the Scottish Cup final against Queen of the South on May 24 – a game that could seal a historic Quadruple for the Glasgow giants.
The forward said: “There is no way I will be back in a couple of weeks or anything like that but my aim is to get 10 minutes in the Scottish Cup final at the end of the season.”