WALTER UNDER NO ILLUSIONS

April 26, 2008 - Daily Hun Newsdesk

Walter Smith is not a man who readily wears his heart on his sleeve, he is more the strong silent type whose most hidden thoughts remain not just hidden but totally invisible.

He is also not prone to outward signs of emotion but when roused he can come across as Vesuvius on the brink of an almighty eruption.

The man who combines the wisdom of Solomon with the patience of Job, finally had his good nature pushed to breaking point with the SPL’s bizarre and almost perverse decision not to fully extend the season so as to eradicate Rangers’ horrific backlog of fixtures.

Smith is under no illusion about where the finger of guilt must point.

“Peter Lawwell is a man who has tremendous influence within Scottish football generally but has exceptional powers within the highest echelons of Scottish football, in plain English, he has their ear”.

I can see from the pained expression that it is difficult for the gentleman of Scottish football to make such as scathing accusation, but there is no doubt that a wounded Walter Smith is a dangerous animal who won’t take any bad decision without a strong fight.

Smith qualifies his criticism of Lawwell by putting it in context;

” Don’t get me wrong, if I were Peter Lawwell, I would be doing exactly what he is doing. He is paid to represent Celtic’s interests and that he does magnificently. Frankly, I feel that there is much we can learn from him in the way he conducts himself”.

This can be seen as a not too subtle dig at the much maligned Rangers COE, the flamboyant Martin Bain. Bain and Smith enjoy a very tetchy relationship and it is clear that Bain’s very public admiration for the Rangers manager is not reciprocated.

But back to the substance of the claim and Smith refutes any suggestion that Rangers are being helped by the authorities. ” The time has come for people to stand up and be counted. We accepted the cancellation of the original Celtic-Rangers fixture following the tragic death of Phil O’Donnell. We went along with the decision to cancel the game as a mark of respect but there is no doubt that Celtic gained from the postponement. Celtic can’t of course be held responsible for O’Donnell’s death, but there are certainly questions about how they have manipulated subsequent events”.

Smith raises many valid points and his stance of pointing the finger may eventually get him into trouble with the very people who could help him.

The argument that Celtic were not granted an extension after playing Boavista in the UEFA semi-finals holds no water for Smith.

“Look, there is absolutely no comparison whatsoever! Did Celtic have the amount of injuries we currently have? Did Scotland experience the same amount of rain that we did in the months of January and February? Did they have their suspended players freed up so that they could play in a key Old Firm fixture?

There are clearly many convincing points that Smith can bring to bear on the blazers of the SPL. The question is, are they prepared to listen?