SCOTLAND: Dundee Utd 0 Rangers 3: NOBODY WHO witnessed this epic outpouring of emotion could be left in any doubt as to how desperate Rangers had become to reclaim the title.
Euphoric scenes, which absorbed four years of the Ibrox outfit’s frustration, greeted this definitive victory. Rangers are champions again, for the 52nd time; few of their previous triumphs can surely have prompted such visions of relief.
Celtic’s 0-0 home meeting with Hearts proved irrelevant. A canter on Tayside earned Rangers their first league flag since 2005 and the financial bounty from automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League which is so welcome in these troubled financial times.
Two men savoured these moments more than any other. Walter Smith, who has overseen such an impressive recovery since beginning his second Ibrox tenure in January 2007, has managed a team which overhauled a seven-point deficit to Celtic from the turn of this year.
The 61-year-old walked off the Tannadice pitch alone and with trophy in hand, his raised fist gestures conjuring presidential connotations.
Smith had spent two-and-a-half years out of football, as recently as 2004 he was one of the game’s unwanted men.“I can’t remember a season where we have had so many difficulties to overcome,” admitted the manager.
Smith was cloudy over his future although that, given the circumstances, may owe more to modesty than uncertainty.
And then there is Barry Ferguson. The deposed Rangers captain, who may well head for England in the close season, hardly helped his team’s title bid with the nonsense he and Allan McGregor became embroiled in while on international duty in April.
Yet Ferguson played a cameo role in this success, appearing for the closing 17 minutes against Dundee United and later lifting the SPL trophy alongside the man who took his armband, David Weir. If this is indeed to be the penultimate sight of Ferguson in a Rangers shirt – there is the Scottish Cup final to come on Saturday – he can at least savour yesterday’s return to prominence.
Ferguson stressed he wants to remain a Rangers player. “Rangers are my team. I made a mistake and I’ll learn from that. But for now, I just want to go and enjoy the night.”
Guardian Service
DUNDEE UTD: Zaluska, Kovacevic, Wilkie (Kenneth 54), Dods, Dixon, Caddis, Buaben, Gomis, Conway (Swanson 64), David Robertson (Sandaza 52), Goodwillie. Subs not used: McGovern, Dillon, Grainger, Scott Robertson. Booked: Wilkie, Buaben, Sandaza.
RANGERS: Alexander, Whittaker, Weir, Bougherra, Papac, Davis, Mendes, Edu, Lafferty (McCulloch 82), Boyd (Novo 66), Miller (Ferguson 72). Subs not used: McGregor, Naismith, Fleck, Wilson. Booked: Weir, Papac. Goals: Lafferty 6, Mendes 45, Boyd 52.
Referee: D McDonald (Scotland)
