The Four Questions I Would Ask.......Walter Smith

Walter Smith was possibly the greatest manager in the history of Rangers Football Club. He won 21 major honours and reached many Cup finals and went through many good European campaigns, notably beating Leeds Utd in the ‘Battle of Britain’ and reaching the UEFA Cup Final in 2008. If I was to interview legendary Rangers’ manager, Walter Smith, I would ask:

 

1) When You First Moved to Rangers, did you think you could achieve just quite as much success as you did?

 

I would ask Walter Smith this because when he went to Rangers as assistant manager to player-manager Graham Souness after a fairly underwhelming playing career, could he really have imagined quite so much success – or even becoming the manager of the football club? He has, over time, developed a swagger when it comes to lifting trophies, and has beaten Celtic more than Jock Stein’s Celtic beat Rangers. He has won 21 major honours with Rangers, more than a sixth of the club’s total honours and has reached European finals and Domestic Cup finals many times. He was a crucial part of Rangers’ record 9 titles in a row throughout the late 80s and the 90s. What’s more is that he returned to Rangers in 2007 and achieved success again, with far less resources than in the 90s. He beat the trend of, ‘It’s never the same the second time round.’ Could he even have imagined becoming the manager of Rangers, taking over from Graham Souness, who galvanised the club and took them to their first league title in years in a very short space of time. He won the league at Pittodrie, where they had not got good results in years. If I was in his position I don’t know if I could imagine what was to come for Walter. It would be good to hear his thoughts.

Walter Smith pictured with one of his many top flight titles

2) Why couldn’t Rangers win a tenth title in a row and did you think Rangers would win it at the start of that season?

I would ask this because Rangers achieved so much success and glory throughout their 9 titles in a row, including many cups and European journeys. They had produced so many World class players. It was the greatest era in the club’s history and most of the players stayed on to try and go for ten in a row. Was it just fate that determined Rangers to fail in the final fixtures or was it his aging team? Was it because Walter had announced he would be departing at the end of the season? It would be interesting to hear if there was a particular reason he thought stopped a legendary tenth title in a row. Did he believe they could do it beforehand?

3) If Rangers hadn’t come calling in 2007, do you think you could have taken Scotland to a major tournament?

I would ask this because I remember Walter Smith saying he would not have left Scotland job for any other management job. He left and did a fantastic job at Rangers again but could things have gone well for the Scots had he stayed? He had been doing a fantastic job at Scotland. He had taken Scotland from Berti Vogts’ losing formula to a winning formula. He beat 1998 world champions France and had helped Scotland climb the World rankings. Does he think that he could have guided Scotland to a World Cup or European Championship? How far could they have gone in these tournaments? How long would he have stayed?

Could Walter Smith have been the right man to take Scotland to a major tournament?

 

4) What do you think of Mark Warburton so far and how long will it take for Rangers to be looking to challenge for the title?

 

Mark Warburton built a squad from a low budget and changed McCoist’s legacy of failure, followed up by Kenny McDowall’s disaster and Stuart McCall’s attempt at promotion. He won promotion to the premiership at a canter, won the challenge cup and led Rangers to the Scottish Cup final, beating Celtic on the way, before narrowly losing in the final. He has made an underwhelming start in the premiership this season so far, not meeting Rangers fans’ expectations. He has set records for worst starts in the top flight in years, despite many convincing performances. What does Walter think, as he has attended many matches and witnessed Mark’s new, fluent style of attacking football? Does he think Mark has done a good job so far? How much time should he be given to get Rangers consistently winning and how many years should he be given to guide Rangers to a 55th title? Walter knows better than anyone of the pressures of being the Rangers manager. Does he think Warburton is coping well with these pressures despite some slightly unusual comments and criticism of ‘The overly negative media’ in Scotland?

by Luke Randall