Walter Still Rues Freak Negri Injury That Was so Costly in Pursuit of 10-in-a-Row Immortality

Summary

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AS he looks back on his 60-year-old life Walter Smith has few regrets, but Rangers failure to secure 10 in a row during his first spell in charge stirs the occasional pang of frustration. Ten years have passed since that pivotal 1997/98 season when Celtic reclaimed the SPL title thanks to a final-day win over St Johnstone and made sure their record of nine consecutive titles remained unbeaten.

With Fergus McCann loosening the purse strings and Dutch coach Wim Jansen in charge, the reasons for Celtics resurgence were plenty but Rangers dip in that final year was a more complex affair. For one thing, the team was ageing, with players such as Andy Goram, Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup starting to look jaded.

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Extract

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Walter Still Rues Freak Negri Injury That Was so Costly in Pursuit of 10-in-a-Row Immortality

Smith responded with one last signing splurge, but his final hand proved to be flawed and cursed by injury. Indeed, if Smith was to point to one defining moment of that season, it would not have occurred a...

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