From What I’ve Seen – Stevie Smith Makes Rangers Players Observation | OneFootball

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Interim Rangers boss Stevie Smith has insisted that the players must back up what he has seen on the training pitch with their performance against Dundee United.

Russell Martin was sacked after the draw against Falkirk, with his tenure being the shortest in Rangers’ history at 123 days, after a period of torrid returns on the pitch for the club.

Smith, who was managing an Under-19 training session when he got the first inkling that he would be the interim manager, has since led the senior training sessions during the international break.

With domestic action resuming after the international break, Smith stated that he will be prioritising clarity from a tactical viewpoint against Dundee United this afternoon –  match preview here.

Smith urged the players to repeat for the fans what he has witnessed in training and prove their quality as a team through their performances, as it is actions that have true value in his opinion.

In a pre-match press conference, Smith said (2:07): “I think there’s a few things, probably clarity is the most important thing in terms of the tactical side of the game.

“I think we tried to put a bit of work into them yesterday and we’ll do more of that today, but probably just to strip it back and simplify it and remind them that they are a good group of players from what I’ve seen.

“But I see words are cheap and I think there’s a lot of people sat here and promised certain things but it’s up to them now to go and put that into practice.”

Rangers have zeroed in on Kevin Muscat as the ideal replacement for Martin, after being turned down by Steven Gerrard.

They will have to wait for Muscat though, with the Chinese Super League entering its final stretches of the season.

Muscat’s Shanghai Port lead the league by two points with three games to go in the title run-in.

Shanghai Port’s final league fixture is on 22nd November and Rangers will need Smith to do a job until then.

Muscat, who won a treble with Rangers in 2003 as a player, will also need special dispensation from UEFA as he passed his coaching badges outside Europe.

Smith will want to get a run of results going, starting with Dundee United, to make sure Muscat inherits a situation, after the hand-over, from which he can salvage something.