Smith hails brave boys
15/05/2008 7:09 AM
Rangers manager Walter Smith has hailed his side's 'terrific' UEFA Cup campaign after they came up short in the final, suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Zenit St Petersburg.
Goals in the final 20 minutes from Igor Denisov (72) and Konstatin Zyryanov (93) were enough to hand the Russians, inspired by Andrei Arshavin, a deserved victory at the City of Manchester Stadium.
"Over the tournament we've worked very hard to get to the final - there was not that much in it overall and we had a few chances ourselves," Smith told ITV1.
"Zenit looked the more offensive team but obviously at this stage I'm disappointed to have lost."
"We've had a terrific tournament - it doesn't take away the disappointment but in the end I can have no complaints."
Smith added: "You don't get the opportunity very often to get to European finals and when you do it's very disappointing to lose."
Vanquished captain David Weir challenged his team to bounce back from the heartbreak and claim a Scottish Premier League victory at Motherwell on Saturday that would take the club a step closer to what can only now be a treble.
"We've come a long way and won a lot of games that maybe we shouldn't have, but it's just big disappointment," Weir said.
"They are a very good side so big credit to them. They beat Bayern Munich in the semis and Bayer Leverkusen, but we want to be up there picking up the trophy."
On the Motherwell clash he added: "That's what we're focused on now. We'll find out what we're all about on Saturday morning."