If Walter Smith had not returned to manage Rangers for a second time then I would have had some reservations about calling him an Ibrox legend.The boyhood Gers fan navigated the club to nine titles in a row during the late eighties and nineties while bringing numerous other trophies to Govan.

However, with such a massive financial advantage over the rest of Scottish football, and at a time when rivals Celtic,were heading for oblivion from which they were rescued only at the eleventh hour by Fergus McCann, how could he have failed? And despite Smith's Rangers gorging on domestic success, few supporters urged him to change his mind after he announced his imminent retirement.

Let us remember, also, that Dick Advocaat was brought over from Holland - and let me get this phrase correct - 'to take Rangers to the next level.'

In football speak, it was a move designed for one thing and one thing only - to make the club a force in Europe. That Advocaat was handed an even bigger budget to bring only European respectability is neither here nor there. It was thought that only a foreign boss could negotiate the tricky continental waters which had fish bigger and hungrier than Rangers.

Only last November, on a trip abroad, I argued late in to the night with a colleague about Smith's input since January 2007 when 'duty called' and he returned to rescue clean up the mess created by Paul Le Guen. The irony of Smith taking the club to a European final in 2008 with vastly reduced resources and talent in comparison with his first spell in Govan, is delicious.

However, there should always be some sort of responsibility to try and entertain the paying public.

Lionel Messi's 'anti-football' jibe aimed at the Ibrox club after Barcelona were held to a goalless draw in Govan in a Champions League group game, which preceded the road to Manchester for the UEFA Cup final, mirrored the frustration felt by many Light Blues' fans.

Don't believe me? Check backdated copies of newspapers and tapes of radio phone-ins to read and hear some Gers fans lambast Smith and his style of play. Those frustrations refused to go away.   Despite reaching a European final for the first time in 36 years and wresting the title back from Celtic, when Romanian unknowns Unirea Urziceni thumped Rangers 4-1 last October in what was the worst European result in the club’s history, fans again wanted Smith's head.

However, recent weeks and months have seen a sea-change in attitude towards the Ibrox manager. While the football is still dreadful at times - witness the goalless draw against St Mirren in the Scottish Cup on Saturday - Rangers have again battled their way to the top of the SPL.
However, perhaps more significantly, in addition to the on-field encouragement, the former Scotland boss has gained respect for the way he has handled the storm surrounding Rangers' on-going financial troubles which, in the absence of a buyer for a club which is around £31million in debt, show no sign of disappearing fast.
Smith has emerged as a powerful force in Govan and comparisons can be made with Willie Waddell at the time of the Ibrox disaster.

A former Rangers player of some standing, 'Deedle' became an even more influential figure when recruited as boss in the late sixties and came to the fore after the tragedy on January 2, 1971, when 66 people died following the Old Firm derby. While the Rangers directors went to ground, unsure of how to respond in the days and weeks following the tragedy, Waddell took control and with clarity and leadership guided the club through what was a difficult time.

There is lots we still don't know about what is currently happening behind the scenes at Ibrox but Smith, who, like assistants Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall, has been working without a contract since January, is trying to plot a course out of troubled waters. Those Rangers fans who have been overly-critical of their boss since his return would be advised not to ponder too long on the thoughts of where the club would be now if he had remained as Scotland boss or stepped down at any time over the last three years.

It's easy to walk when things are going wrong and you don't have to look too far back for evidence of that at Ibrox. When Martin O'Neill shunted Advocaat off course, the Little General disappeared upstairs to become 'director of football' for a spell before slipping quietly away to manage Holland on a full-time basis for a second time. More recently Frenchman Paul Le Guen chucked it, accepting very quickly that he was out of his depth in the often choppy Old Firm waters.

Smith, though, has refused to waiver.

All the experience he gained during his first spell as Rangers boss has been utilised in keeping the club from sinking. While the Ibrox squad is still packed with internationals, the shoe is now on the other foot for Smith, who has had his nose pressed outside the transfer window for 18 months watching Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray helping themselves.

It's one thing buying Brian Laudrup or Paul Gascoigne to help win the Scottish championship. It is much, much harder to go head-to-head with Celtic when 39-year-old Davie Weir is holding your defence together but for the most part Smith is succeeding.

There is talk of grateful Light Blues' fans turning the forthcoming Co-operative Insurance Cup final against St Mirren at Hampden in to a 'Walter Smith day.'
While the thought behind that idea is commendable, Smith deserves a greater and longer-lasting accolade.

Under the present, fraught circumstances, winning another treble, or indeed, even just retaining the title would be remarkable. However, helping Rangers escape from their financial troubles with pride intact and ready to move on to the next phase of the club's history, would be Smith's greatest legacy.

Such a feat would demand that the man from Carmyle be placed alongside Struth, Wallace and Waddell as a true Rangers legend.