walter- I’m ready to invest in Gers.. by buying 4 season tickets

[ShaneRalfRoss 305]

I’m ready to invest in Gers.. by buying 4 season tickets

By ROBERT GRIEVE

Published: Today

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WALTER SMITH ripped off his club tie and reached for his scarf.

Rangers manager no more. Ibrox fan FOREVER.

Smith has ended his second spell in charge and is now preparing to kick back in retirement.

No club director of football position. No SFA performance guru.

Smith simply wants to pay his money and take his seat in the stand like every other supporter.

He said: "It's quite odd waking up and not being manager of Rangers, but it's happened to me before!

"When you're 63 you've had a lot more years when you're not the manager of Rangers than you have had being the manager.

"But I suppose it is a strange circumstance.

"I just feel it's the correct thing for everybody, not just me. It's a decision which has been made and Rangers will go on.

"Everybody keeps saying to me, 'what are you going to do?', but I don't know.

"If I was wanting to stay in football then I would have stayed here. I would have had no intention of going anywhere else.

"But I'm leaving to do what a lot of people my age do, hopefully enjoy myself a wee bit.

"And I won't be back at the club in ANY role.

"I'll never be a director of football, I've made that quite clear.

"Someone once suggested I'd come back as the performance director of the SFA, but there was absolutely no chance of that either.

"One reason why I won't be back at Rangers is that I won't be sitting there looking at lads I worked with.

"So you might see me at Dumbarton or Forfar or somewhere like that, plus the occasional Rangers game.

"But I'll go to watch Rangers as a fan. It's not right for me to be hanging around the club when there is new people there.

"I'll be buying season tickets - four of them actually - and if I can, I will buy a couple of tickets for the members' suite. So I will be investing in the team."

Smith may never be back at Ibrox in a working capacity - but he'll always be on the end of a phone.

Ally McCoist takes charge now, stepping into shoes which are virtually impossible to fill.

As he said when he was unveiled, it's like taking the microphone from Sinatra.

Smith, though, has unwavering belief in his former No9 as he becomes the No1.

He added: "People keep asking me 'will he ask you this, or ask you that?'.

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"But I still speak to people like Jim McLean and Sir Alex Ferguson. That's what you do, you ask questions. So Ally will do just as I've been able to do, to ask people who I have worked with before.

"Ally can ask me, but he will make up his own mind what he is going to do.

"I don't need to tell Ally anything. He will be able to handle the situation as it comes along."

Smith lifting his 21st trophy as Rangers boss on Sunday was the end of a phenomenal success story over two glittering spells in charge.

It's hard to imagine he's taken more satisfaction from any of the previous title wins than his final last-day triumph.

But ranking his memories is something he simply finds impossible to do.

Smith added: "I've said before, if you have been involved in teams that have won championships, I don't think you can pick and choose if one is better than another.

"This season there has been a lot going on surrounding the club, which has made it a nice one. But you just can't separate them.

"I look at a lot of my pals who have been in football for a long time, and don't get a chance to win one championship, never mind a few.

"So it would be wrong of me to select one of mine as the best. I've been involved in quite a few and I'd put them on a par." There are bound to be changes now at Ibrox.

New owner Craig Whyte must bankroll a drastic overhaul to the first-team squad to help those who have punched above their weight.

Davie Weir can't go on forever - or can he? Smith said: "We have been doing the same thing to Davie every year.

"We just ignore him and let him play.

"For the last four years we have wondered what was going to happen with him, and he has come back every year."

McCoist can only hope that the spine of his team - Allan McGregor, Madjid Bougherra, Steven Davis and Nikica Jelavic - stays put.

Others such as Kyle Lafferty must deliver more quality more often.

The Northern Irish striker was sensational in the run-in, producing performances to silence his critics when it mattered most.

Smith added: "He's caused himself a few headaches - he hasn't caused me that many!

"When you go and buy a younger player, it will take a little bit of time for him to settle down. He has taken a little bit of time.

"He has shown, in the past few seasons, glimpses of play and this season he has actually played really well wide on the left and as a striker.

"But because of his previous reputation, people don't give him the credit.

"You can see he's settling down a wee bit. It has maybe taken him a bit longer than other players but it's happening.

"I'm delighted for him. He seems to be settling down as a boy as well, and that's a good thing."

Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3584158/Im-ready-to-invest-in-Gers-by-buying-4-season-tickets.html#ixzz1MYuPYox8

[Jelle1880 313]

What a guy.

I can already see him now from the stand next to the Broomie:

'See you ya fenian bastard, I'll cut you first!'

[Radke 5]

I'd love to see walter do the bouncy