Rangers boss Walter Smith is refusing to get carried away by his side's commanding lead at the top of the table.
Gers chief keeps his feet on the ground
Rangers boss Walter Smith is refusing to get carried away by his side's commanding lead at the top of the table.
The Gers moved nine points clear of their Old Firm rivals Celtic with a win at Hamilton as their Glasgow neighbours were held to a draw at home to Falkirk.
Smith is not reading too much into the healthy advantage his side hold at the summit pointing to the fact that Rangers trailed Celtic by seven points last term before overtaking them to win the title.
"I don't think we are that far out in front in the league," said Smith.
"It's a good headline to say you are nine points in front but Celtic still have a game in hand so we would look at it as being six points in front.
"At this stage last season, Celtic were seven points in front of us so it doesn't mean much at this stage of the season.
"We have each other to play on two occasions, never mind the rest of the games. It's nice to be in that position but I don't think it means a great deal at this stage of the season."
Praise
However, Smith was keen to praise his players for their efforts in staying in pole position despite having plenty of obstacles to overcome so far.
"Our players deserve a great deal of credit for the way they have handled the season," added Smith.
"It's not easy when you're involved in Champions League games and you're not doing well, it's not easy to keep a level of consistency going.
"In December, we played exceptionally well but, unfortunately, we have had a whole list of injuries and suspensions and that has disrupted us a little, I don't think there is any doubt about that.
"Since the turn of the year, we haven't played in the manner that we did in December.
"There has been a bit of inconsistency in our team right from the very start of the season in terms of performance so any lead that we have in the championship at the moment is welcome.
"But it's welcome in the knowledge that we still have an awful lot to do this season."
