RANGERS manager Walter Smith expected nothing less than a nerve-jangling finale to the Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League season, despite Celtic being written off as early as March.
Many fans thought the title was in the bag when Rangers won their fourth Old Firm derby on the trot.
Smith's men moved six points clear with one game in hand with that win but they go into tonight's Ibrox clash against third-placed Motherwell know
ing that defeat would take the destiny of the championship out of their hands.
While Celtic bounced back from that Ibrox loss, Rangers have dropped ten points in their last four SPL games, including two defeats at Parkhead.
But Smith is not feeling the heat after Celtic turned the tables to move seven points ahead.
Smith, in the first full season back at Ibrox, is pleased to be in with a chance of stopping Celtic winning their sixth title in eight years.
And the 60-year-old is well aware the two recent SPL triumphs which Rangers secured went to the final few minutes of the season. "Celtic have performed consistently well over the last couple of seasons, to their credit," Smith said.
"Nobody here would ever have expected that this season would have been any different. If you look back at the championships that Celtic have lost recently, they have all been late in the season. They have managed to win the last two fairly comfortably.
"This season, if you said to me with four or five games to go we would be challenging for the championship, I would accept that. I would have thought that would have been a good season for us."
While Celtic have just two games remaining, Rangers have five SPL games on top of both the UEFA and Scottish cup finals.
And Smith feels the European race could have an impact on the title race.
Motherwell come to Ibrox with a one-point lead over Dundee United and Hibernian, while Aberdeen have put themselves back in the frame.
The Gers could only draw at Hibs on Sunday and face United on Saturday in another vital encounter for both sides.
The full article contains 369 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
