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Walter Smith - Former Rangers, Everton and Scotland boss dies aged 73

  /  autty

Walter Smith, who managed Scotland, Rangers and Everton, has died at the age of 73.

Smith enjoyed great success with Rangers over two spells, took charge of the Scotland national side and spent four years in the Premier League with Everton.

The Lanark-born defender's playing career saw him play for Dundee United in two spells either side of two seasons at Dumbarton, and it was during his second spell at Tannadice that a pelvic injury meant Smith made his first forays into coaching under Jim McLean.

Smith became coach of the Scotland under-18s in 1978 and the under-21s in 1982. He was also Alex Ferguson's assistant at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico before becoming assistant to Graeme Souness at Rangers later that summer.

With Souness operating as a player-manager at Ibrox, Smith was the senior coaching presence on the touchline and was given the job on a full-time basis when Souness moved to manage Liverpool in 1991.

Smith continued Rangers' domination at home and in Europe, taking the club to six Scottish top-flight titles and a domestic treble in 1992-93, the season in which the club narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions League final after finishing as runners-up in the group which was won by eventual winners Marseille.

Rangers equalled Celtic's record of nine successive championships in 1996-97 but a poor European start to the following campaign saw Smith confirm he would leave the club at the end of the campaign to join Everton.

His time at Goodison Park, however, was not a success and he was sacked in March 2002 before a brief spell as Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United at the end of the 2003-04 season.

Berti Vogts departure from the Scotland national side paved the way for Smith to become manager in December 2004. Despite overseeing a rise for Scotland of 70 places in the international rankings, they failed to reach the World Cup Finals in 2006 after a home defeat to Belarus.

Smith returned to Rangers for a second spell in January 2007 and was able to replicate the glory of his first spell, leading the club to three more league titles, two Scottish Cups, three Scottish League Cups and a UEFA Cup final, which they lost 2-0 to Zenit Saint Petersburg.