Sad Smith demands final push

Rangers manager Walter Smith has urged his players to end their season on a high by winning the Scottish Cup against Queen of the South on Saturday.

The Ibrox boss could not hide his disappointment after the 2-0 defeat at Aberdeen together with Celtic's 1-0 win at Dundee United meant his side missed out on the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title to the Hoops.

"That's what we have to do (win the cup)," he said. "We have a cup final and we would like to finish the season on a brighter note than we have done over the last week or so."

Goals from Lee Miller and Darren Mackie sealed Rangers' defeat, before Nacho Novo saw red late on for an over-the-top challenge on Stuart Duff.

The tiny striker now misses the final but Smith had no complaints about the sending-off.

He said: "It's difficult to see from the dugout but if he missed the ball, he deserved to be sent off so I can have no argument with that."

A few weeks ago, Rangers had high hopes of an historic quadruple but an exhausting campaign, which will see them play their 68th game of the season against Queens, has finally taken its toll with defeat in the UEFA Cup final and SPL.

Being branded failures now after such an epic campaign may seem harsh but Smith admitted: "That's the fact of the matter.

"We had an opportunity to win the championship and we let it slip and that's the most disappointing factor."