The role Rangers legend Walter Smith played in developing Sheffield United's John Fleck revisited after death aged 73

Smith guided Rangers to 10 Scottish league titles during his time at Ibrox and led them to the 2008 UEFA Cup final, winning 21 titles in total during two spells with the club.

He was 73 and had been battling illness, with the outpouring of tributes reflecting his standing in the game.

“He’s a great manager and a great guy and he has played a big part in my development,” Fleck said in a 2010 interview with The Times, in which the current Blade expressed his hope that Smith would remain as Rangers boss after expressing his desire to step down.

“He will take you aside and speak to you, as will Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant and Kenny McDowall. If he needs to shout at you he will, but he is a lot calmer than he used to be.”

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Smith blooded a teenage Fleck into the Rangers side, bringing him on as a late substitute in the 2008 Scottish Cup final to become the youngest-ever player to play in a senior British cup showpiece, and backed the youngster for a first senior Scotland cap at 17 years old. Incredibly, it didn’t arrive until Fleck was 28.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Smith said of news that George Burley, the then-Scotland boss, was considering capping a teenage Fleck. “Like any manager, if you have a player you think is good enough, it doesn't matter about his age.

“If George considers John good enough to play in the national team, then that is his decision - the same as it was my decision about when to bring him into the Rangers team.”

It was also Smith’s decision to axe Fleck from a Rangers pre-season squad, the player himself admitting he had become “lazy” after bursting onto the scene at his boyhood club.

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"Now I have it ingrained in my head I need to work hard in training,” Fleck admitted back in 2020.

"I was lazy in my head. I spoke to the gaffer [Smith] about it and then ended up doing well in games towards the end of the season. He realises I'm still a young boy but I know I have to work hard.

"During last pre-season I wasn't. The gaffer spoke to me and I bucked up after that. I was left out for the Emirates Cup and then started working harder."

Rangers chairman Douglas Park said today of Smith: “It is almost impossible to encapsulate what Walter meant to every one of us at Rangers. He embodied everything that a Ranger should be. His character and leadership was second to none, and will live long in the memory of everyone he worked with during his two terms as first team manager.

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“I spoke with Walter as recently as last weekend. Even when he was battling illness, he was still able to provide advice and support. For that, I am personally grateful. I know that he continued also to maintain dialogue with senior members of staff, including our manager, Steven Gerrard. Walter will be sorely missed by all of us at Rangers.”

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