Smith patient on transfer raids

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Rangers manager Walter Smith has yet to receive any fresh offers for his players ahead of the transfer window.

"We would hope to be active in the transfer market in terms of bringing in players, but that is dependent on who we get out," he told the club website.

"Nacho Novo is going to Spain in one paper then going to Hull in another and there's quite a gap between the two."

Andrius Velicka and Charlie Adam have also been linked with moves, but Smith said the latter was still in his plans.

Smith said this month that up to 10 players could leave Ibrox by the summer, but so far only veteran striker Jean-Claude Darcheville's January transfer to Valenciennes has materialised.

Novo's agent, Jorge Lera, told BBC Sport he did not expect the Spaniard to leave Rangers in the upcoming transfer window.

The striker, who signed a new two-year deal in December 2007, has been linked with Spanish outfit Deportivo La Coruna and English Premier League side Hull City.

But Smith would not be drawn on the latest transfer speculation, adding: "We get to the open season when people are free to speculate, but the fact is we've had no contact at this stage regarding any of our players.

"We'll just have to wait to see what happens. You go for a few months when the transfer window is closed and you don't have any speculation, but now it's started."

The Rangers manager said Adam still had a future at the club - despite the midfielder finding himself in and out of the first-team.

"He can do a job for us," said Smith. "He has done so in the past and will continue to do so in the weeks ahead."

Smith, whose side slipped seven points behind in the Scottish title race after Saturday's defeat by leaders Celtic, said he hoped to trim his squad once the January transfer window opens.

"We have too many lads in the group who are not playing and they don't like that, which means it's not conducive to having a good squad," he said.

"Of course, we have scouts in place as people do at every club. But, first and foremost, we must adjust our current squad before we look at bringing bodies in."

Watford, Burnley and Nottingham Forest have all expressed an interest in Adam, but the 23-year-old, who was recalled to the team for the 1-0 defeat by Celtic, said he was content at Ibrox.

"I still have three-and-a-half years left on my contract," he said.

"I'm happy at Rangers. Unless someone else thinks otherwise then I'm happy to be at this fantastic club."

Former Hearts striker Velicka has been unable to establish himself in Smith's first-team since his £1m move from Viking Stavanger in June and has been linked with a return to Tynecastle.