Gers over Euro exit says Smith

Smith says Rangers have received a fillip in recent weeks

Rangers manager Walter Smith insists the club have put the disappointment of their exit from European competition at the hands of FBK Kaunas behind them.

A winning start to the new season and a flurry of new signings has helped ease the pain of the 2-1 aggregate defeat.

"I think overall we can say that we are over the Kaunas result," Smith told the club's official website.

"It'll always be a huge regret of those involved, but I now feel we've moved on and can get on with our season."

Rangers' European quest came to an abrupt halt in Lithuania two weeks ago when Linas Pilibaitis' header four minutes from time gave Kaunas a 2-1 victory in the Champions League second round qualifier.

The loss at such an early stage in the competition meant the Glasgow team were even denied the safety net of a place in the Uefa Cup.

Following the premature exit from Europe, and the loss of around £12m in revenue, shell-shocked fans were hit with a further blow when the club were forced to sell prize assest, Scottish Football Writers' player of the year, Carlos Cuellar, to Aston Villa.

I think overall we can say that we are over the Kaunas result Rangers manager Walter Smith

Villa's bid of £7.8m triggered a clause in the Spanish defender's contract which saw the Ibrox club unable to prevent his departure south.

But Smith believes back-to-back SPL wins over Falkirk and Hearts, and the recent acquisition of new players, such as Pedro Mendes, have helped lift the spirits of everyone at Ibrox.

"The obvious disappointment of going out of Europe to Kaunas was difficult for everyone in the group to overcome," Smith said.

"We felt we really needed a boost and we got that initially with the win over Falkirk and then the game with Hearts, which was an important one because it was the first home SPL game of the season.

"The addition of Mendes in that game was also a factor.

"We felt in the close season that we needed to boost the midfield and front areas.

"We got the front players in that we wanted to bring in that were within our price range and normally that is the hardest area to fill."

Smith brought in strike trio Kenny Miller, Andrius Velicka and Kyle Lafferty over the summer to boost his attacking options.

"The midfield area proved to the bigger problem in terms of timing," Smith explained.

"We had been working away behind the scenes to try to get the players we wanted but we were not able to do so in our preferred time slot.

"However, we have achieved that now. Pedro Mendes came in last week and young Aaron too."

The 29-year-old Portuguese playmaker, Mendes, arrived from Portsmouth for a fee of £3m.

And Valencia youngster, Aaron Niguez Esclapez, 19, an attacking midfielder with Champions League experience, was brought in on a two-year loan deal with an option for Rangers to make the deal permanent.

Rangers have also signed American international Maurice Edu, 22, from MLS side Toronto on a five-year contract, subject to a work permit being granted.

And a deal for long-term target, Steve Davis, is close to being tied up after Fulham's Northern Ireland international midfielder enjoyed a successful loan period at Ibrox last season.

MY SPORT: DEBATE Are Rangers fans over the Kaunas result too?

Midfield lynchpin Barry Ferguson is sidelined until November after undergoing surgery on a niggling ankle injury.

And Smith was keen to populate his midfield with players who would not only provide cover for the absent Gers skipper, but improve the team's ball retention and inject a creative spark that has been lacking from his side.

"I felt that one of the improvements we had to make was overall possession of the ball and make better use of it," Smith admitted.

"Barry Ferguson took the brunt of that but you need the whole midfield to join in and help out.

"So I think each of the players we are bringing in will improve us in our overall ability of holding the ball plus the ability to get forward and support."

With a host of new signings arriving, Smith expects several players surplus to requirements at Ibrox to leave within the next two weeks.

Smith said: "Of course, given that we have now increased the squad that will mean some players are going to be unhappy because they are not getting a game.

"So some of them may leave during this transfer window and that may be an obvious thing.

"There are a few in that category and I think they would like permanent moves rather than loans."