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WALTER SMITH is hoping that disquiet among some Rangers fans will not affect his players as they bid to build momentum in their quest for SPL success.

Some supporters issued a list of complaints earlier this week under the banner "We Deserve Better" and the Rangers manager insists they have every right to do so.

Ally McCoist and Walter SmithHowever, he has questioned how strong their influence is and believes he will find out at tomorrow's first Ibrox game of 2009 against Falkirk.

Smith said today: "You always respect supporters' criticism and comments, although one of the criticisms is that they don't seem to think that this is the case.

"You have to take on board the criticisms that are levelled against you. It would be, from my own point of view, a little bit easier if we knew who they were.

"If they reflect and speak on behalf of every Rangers supporter then we have a problem that we need to adjust to. We will have to wait and see.

"As I say, I have never met these fans and I'm not sure how many supporters they actually represent.

"They certainly know how to get a level of publicity but just how many people they represent we may well get a better idea tomorrow.

"Supporters have a right to protest. This campaign started earlier in the season. They had a banner in the ground early in the season about three weeks or so in.

"So there has obviously been disquiet among these people for the whole of the season so we have to take that on board and hopefully reach the level they expect of us.

"Our job is to go out and get ourselves results on the pitch."Walter Smith

Smith is perplexed by some of the complaints but hopes that his team can unite the fans with their performances on the pitch.

He added: "I think we are getting slightly mixed up in what's happening. The Chairman has made it quite clear. We have a financial problem that we currently have to adjust to and that has brought about a reaction from a certain section of the support that they are looking at every aspect of the club.

"Football clubs live or die by results and managers live or die by results. We have had one or two bad results this season and we have to make sure that we try to adjust to that.

"We had a very successful season last season and three weeks in people were unhappy with the way we were and it looks as though that will continue.

"We strive to be as successful as we can be. If people are unhappy with the way we are going then they have the right to express that disquiet.

"I just hope that it doesn't affect us too much. There is a lot going on around the club at the moment.

Ian Durrant and Walter Smith at Love Street"So far it hasn't affected us in a footballing sense and that's the most important thing.

"So we have to go on and try to win games. We have a lot of difficult matches coming up and we need to gain a momentum in our play.

"If there is going to be some kind of protest tomorrow I'm not quite sure how many people are supporting those who have been critical this week.

"If it's a huge element of the support then we will have a problem that we will have to overcome and I hope it won't affect anyone.

"If we perform well enough on the pitch then I'm sure we can quieten them a little bit. We will just have to wait and see."

http://www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Ne...1522533,00.html

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I wish someone would challenge his vies that we had a successful season last year.

It shows how far our standards and ambition have fallen that we now accept failure as success.

1) We threw away the SPL title, essentially because we lost back to back old firm league games. Yes, there are more circumstances to take into account but they are all excuses - we threw it away.

2) We were lucky to win 2 domestic cups, being outplayed in one final, which we won on penalties and struggling against lower league opposition in 3 rounds of the other cup.

3) We were the 18th best club side in Europe last season, which was also behind celtc who finished 9th equal, owing to the fact that the top 16 were in the knockout stages of the CL.

When it comes to using the press, Smith is a wily old fox. All he has done here is try and stir it up and alienate the RST ect who, for all intents and purposes, are asking for a quality club and side.

If they weren't wearing Rangers shirts, how many of us would actually cross the street to watch the current side?

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Interesting to see the replies, I would have expected some to come out with some kind of negative view of this.

in my opinion, Walter has here acted exactly as a Rangers manager should. He has shown dignity and resepect, and has not shot anything down. He queried the numbers who support this campaign, and, how many are involved, which is fine, given, a lot on here have been questioning the same thing.

Perhaps, it would then perhaps be an ideal time for the trust to contact other groups, and, Smith himself, with some ideas? In a friendly constructive manner

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Interesting to see the replies, I would have expected some to come out with some kind of negative view of this.

in my opinion, Walter has here acted exactly as a Rangers manager should. He has shown dignity and resepect, and has not shot anything down. He queried the numbers who support this campaign, and, how many are involved, which is fine, given, a lot on here have been questioning the same thing.

Perhaps, it would then perhaps be an ideal time for the trust to contact other groups, and, Smith himself, with some ideas? In a friendly constructive manner

You mean, you were ready to jump in on your highhorse :P

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I understood that a protest was being arranged for the DU game, but NOT tomorrow.

So what d'you think Wattie thinks he's going to find out tomorrow, and how?

They certainly know how to get a level of publicity but just how many people they represent we may well get a better idea tomorrow.
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Interesting to see the replies, I would have expected some to come out with some kind of negative view of this.

in my opinion, Walter has here acted exactly as a Rangers manager should. He has shown dignity and resepect, and has not shot anything down. He queried the numbers who support this campaign, and, how many are involved, which is fine, given, a lot on here have been questioning the same thing.

Perhaps, it would then perhaps be an ideal time for the trust to contact other groups, and, Smith himself, with some ideas? In a friendly constructive manner

Yes, I'll send Walter a letter with some diagrams with what he should do at Auchenhowie.

What do you think the response would be? Remember, he knows best even though the quality of his team is rotten.

For example, Miller should be worked every day on different situations where he lacks composure in and around the box. His crossing, shooting and passing are very poor for an international, Rangers forward and if he put the practice in his ability could only improve.

Take his 'invisible flick' the other night. If the centre half hadn't scored for him then that would have ranked as one of the misses of the season. He didn't just miss the chance he missed the ball and was lucky that it was overlooked as we got a goal.

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I wish someone would challenge his vies that we had a successful season last year.

It shows how far our standards and ambition have fallen that we now accept failure as success.

1) We threw away the SPL title, essentially because we lost back to back old firm league games. Yes, there are more circumstances to take into account but they are all excuses - we threw it away.

2) We were lucky to win 2 domestic cups, being outplayed in one final, which we won on penalties and struggling against lower league opposition in 3 rounds of the other cup.

3) We were the 18th best club side in Europe last season, which was also behind celtc who finished 9th equal, owing to the fact that the top 16 were in the knockout stages of the CL.

When it comes to using the press, Smith is a wily old fox. All he has done here is try and stir it up and alienate the RST ect who, for all intents and purposes, are asking for a quality club and side.

If they weren't wearing Rangers shirts, how many of us would actually cross the street to watch the current side?

haha thanks for not letting me down, you must have posted as i was writing!

He said, we will have to address this if fans are not happy", yet, you see that.

That is an inherant problem with the trust, a LACK of. That is an opportunity, which wont be taken

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Interesting to see the replies, I would have expected some to come out with some kind of negative view of this.

in my opinion, Walter has here acted exactly as a Rangers manager should. He has shown dignity and resepect, and has not shot anything down. He queried the numbers who support this campaign, and, how many are involved, which is fine, given, a lot on here have been questioning the same thing.

Perhaps, it would then perhaps be an ideal time for the trust to contact other groups, and, Smith himself, with some ideas? In a friendly constructive manner

You mean, you were ready to jump in on your highhorse :P

Its 8 feet tall man!

haha, and Tonotspal didnt let me down

I might away and offer my services as statement writer for the RST

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Interesting to see the replies, I would have expected some to come out with some kind of negative view of this.

in my opinion, Walter has here acted exactly as a Rangers manager should. He has shown dignity and resepect, and has not shot anything down. He queried the numbers who support this campaign, and, how many are involved, which is fine, given, a lot on here have been questioning the same thing.

Perhaps, it would then perhaps be an ideal time for the trust to contact other groups, and, Smith himself, with some ideas? In a friendly constructive manner

Yes, I'll send Walter a letter with some diagrams with what he should do at Auchenhowie.

What do you think the response would be? Remember, he knows best even though the quality of his team is rotten.

For example, Miller should be worked every day on different situations where he lacks composure in and around the box. His crossing, shooting and passing are very poor for an international, Rangers forward and if he put the practice in his ability could only improve.

Take his 'invisible flick' the other night. If the centre half hadn't scored for him then that would have ranked as one of the misses of the season. He didn't just miss the chance he missed the ball and was lucky that it was overlooked as we got a goal.

How do you teach composure? Seriously, the lad has never had that, and never will. Sell him, and play Fleck or Naismith in the hole, problem solved. :cheers:

Had the play been the other way round, with Miller playing it in for Boyd, its pretty likely a Rangers player would have scored.

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I understood that a protest was being arranged for the DU game, but NOT tomorrow.

I have a feeling Walter knows exactly what he is saying by mentioning tomorrows match…….

Are people actually planning to protest during one of our most important matches of the season…that is absolutely shameful…..

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I fully agree with the "We deserve Better" campaign and have enjoyed the debate it has started amongst us.

I cannot believe that any protest tomorrow would amount to anything more than displaying the banner seen at Perth. We are all there tomorrow to see our team beat Falkirk (surely) and close the gap and put the pressure on the scum before their trip to sheepy on Sunday.

Like the proposed ventures to not go to certain away grounds over the 5% issue, or walking out of games to protest, I would not support any such action that impacts on the support for the team for the 90 minutes of the match. After all, that is what gets us going to the games in the first place is it not?

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I understood that a protest was being arranged for the DU game, but NOT tomorrow.

I have a feeling Walter knows exactly what he is saying by mentioning tomorrows match…….

Are people actually planning to protest during one of our most important matches of the season…that is absolutely shameful…..

So what's he saying?

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I understood that a protest was being arranged for the DU game, but NOT tomorrow.

I have a feeling Walter knows exactly what he is saying by mentioning tomorrows match…….

Are people actually planning to protest during one of our most important matches of the season…that is absolutely shameful…..

So what's he saying?

No protest , we win , the RST are further marginalised….I would imagine…….

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