Smith fearing transfer window exodus
Looking for a buyer
Walter Smith has admitted that every Rangers player is up for sale.
Smith’s squad are in Turkey for tomorrow’s Champions League clash with Bursanspor with the veteran manager dreading another transfer window.
During the summer Smith lost Kris Boyd, Kevin Thomson, Danny Wilson and Nacho Novo from his first team squad but was able to bring in Nikica Jelavic, James Beattie and Vladimir Weiss on loan.
Jelavic and Beattie have made little impact due to injuries leaving Smith trying to squeeze as much as possible out of his diminishing squad.
The Rangers boss is sceptical about any ‘warchest’ claims associated with the alleged takeover from Craig Whyte and is increasingly concerned that he’ll be forced to sell more players in January with Allan McGregor and Kenny Miller both attracting interest.
Smith admitted: “The players are used to it now. Two years ago I had to sit the first team down and tell them they were all for sale. Effectively it’s still the same situation now.
“If possible I’d rather not sell any of them and continue how we are, but if someone comes in and we have to accept a bid we have to get another body in the door.”
The latest leaks from ‘billionaire’ Craig Whyte suggests that Smith will be offered a Director of Football role at Ibrox and confirm that Ally McCoist will be moving into the manager’s job.
Having previously described a deal as imminent the Daily Record is today putting an eight week timescale on Whyte’s takeover.
The presence of Andrew Ellis in the Whyte consortium will have set off alarm bells for Smith after the property developers failed takeover earlier in the year.
Like Whyte, Ellis was leaking details of what he was going to do once he took over at Rangers with three year deals for Smith and his coaching staff promised alongside a new deal for Nacho Novo.
Reacting to that speculation Smith responded saying: “He can say what he likes about me but I would be obliged if he would speak to me before he mentions anything else in the newspapers again.
“I agree with Sir David Murray, if somebody is going to come in and take over the club then do so instead of talking about it in newspapers.”
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