Rangers to unveil statue of Ibrox legend Walter Smith before Scottish Cup final showdown with Celtic
Rangers legend Walter Smith is set to be immortalised at Ibrox before the team take on Celtic in the Scottish Cup final, the club confirmed.
Announced on the Rangers official website on 8 May, a statue of the Scottish football hero, who passed away in 2021, will stand “on the corner of the stadium footprint between Edmiston House and the Copland Road Stand”.
The location was decided on based on where Smith would stand to watch the Gers as a young boy, before growing up and going on to manage the club over two spells.
Smith’s involvement both as manager and under the guidance of Graeme Souness saw the club triumph to 12 league titles over both spells, five Scottish Cups, six League Cups and an appearance in the 2008 UEFA Cup final.
The commemoration of the Rangers great will be unveiled on Saturday 25 May, before the Old Firm Scottish Cup final – the second of two crucial Glasgow derbies which are likely to prove season-defining in Scotland.
Walter Smith’s Rangers legacy
In their announcement of the statue of Walter Smith, Rangers stated his contribution to the club in the modern era of football was “without equal”.
When you list the gargantuan number of trophies Smith won as he made Rangers the undisputed dominant force in Scotland during his tenure, it seems truly fitting that he is immortalised in bronze at Ibrox – and with a lovely nod to where he stood as a fan in his youth.
Smith raised standards and traditions which are still fiercely upheld at Ibrox today, and many have fallen by the wayside when those standards are not replicated on the pitch.
One of those determined not to do so is Philippe Clement, who in the midst of the club recovering from the extreme turbulence of the past 15 years, is looking to follow on from Steven Gerrard as the first signs of Rangers getting back to their best.
The two Glasgow derbies which remain – starting on Saturday and ending with the final before which Smith’s statue is unveiled – could decide Clement’s fate either way, as to whether he himself goes on to earn stalwart status, or be another to fall.
In other Rangers news, a squad overhaul in the summer is discussed.
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