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Rangers manager Walter Smith has urged his players to regroup after a dramatic few weeks by winning the Scottish Cup final against Queen of the South.

The Ibrox club lost the Uefa Cup final and their misery was compounded by losing the SPL title to Celtic.

Smith, who has watched his side play nine games since Queens were last in action, is aiming for a Hampden win.

"This gives us the chance to finish on a high note after the disappointment of the past 10 days," he said.

The Rangers manager said he was proud of his players after an energy-sapping season that sees them prepare for their 68th game.


There'll have to be something left there we're going to do well in the final

Rangers manager
Walter Smith

"It's the Scottish Cup final, it's a big game. There'll have to be something left there if we're going to do well in it," said Smith.

Rangers are looking to add the Scottish Cup to the CIS Cup and Smith said he had no regrets about the club challenging for domestic and European silverware.

"If we had said that we were going to be competing in the final day of all the tournaments we play in, you accept that," Smith said.

"That's more than anything we would have expected towards the end of the season."

Smith said Queen of the South manager Gordon Chisholm would believe they could shock Rangers at Hampden.

"They've had no games over almost a month since they finished, so they could have played a few of ours maybe and alleviated a bit of the problem," he said.

DaMarcus Beasley
Beasley said Rangers would bounce back from their title misery

"I think Gordon will be sitting there thinking that Rangers have played a lot of matches.

"If you're going to get to a cup final, you couldn't wish for better circumstances, playing a team who played less than 48 hours beforehand."

Spanish striker Nacho Novo will miss the final through suspension after his red card in the 2-0 defeat by Aberdeen.

"He has lost out on two finals with two bad tackles and he can have no complaints about that," said Smith.

"On the night, Nacho is a boy that gets carried away a bit."

US international DaMarcus Beasley said the Rangers players were licking their wounds ahead of the final.


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"It's tough and I'm grieving with the team even though I have not been in the team the last few months," said the midfielder.

"Everybody is disappointed, but we'll be upbeat for tomorrow and we'll still be excited about the season we've had if we win it.

"We're not going to throw it away because we did not win the Uefa Cup and league. We'll be ready. The legs might be tired, but we're mentally tough."

Beasley hopes to feature at Hampden after recovering from a knee injury.

BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish Cups | Smith urges Rangers' final effort