Having overcome FK Zeta and Red Star Belgrade to qualify, Smith's side begin their daunting Champions League group campaign as Stuttgart visit Ibrox tonight.

With Lyon and Barcelona to come, Smith is well aware that Rangers are tipped to finish bottom of Group E.

Even so, he has encouraged his new-look side to defy the odds and show they are good enough to compete with the best - starting with the Bundesliga champions.

He said: "Barcelona are obviously favourites, they have the pedigree to be the favourites but if you're saying the champions of Germany and the champions of France are not going to put up any worthwhile opposition to Barcelona then you're taking a chance.

"We go into the section with a new team, we're a team whose challenge is to try to establish a pedigree and to do so in the Champions League is always a tough task, but it's where we want to be playing and we're hopeful we can be competitive throughout the section.

"I hope we start to have a belief."

Smith also challenged his players to respond to Saturday's defeat at Hearts - their first of the season - by taking maximum points tonight.

He said: "We didn't deserve to take anything from Saturday's game and if we play in that manner at all in the Champions League we won't take anything from that either.

"We have to make sure we revert to a normal situation for us and if we do that then we can achieve.

"We've had a great response from all our players over the period of time I've been back at Rangers and I'm sure this will be no different.

"We had a bad day on Saturday and it's down to everyone to show it was just a bad day and revert to something normal."

Of the challenge from Stuttgart, he added: "A team like Stuttgart have won a championship after a great number of years not winning it, then when they get the chance in the Champions League they want to make sure they put their full focus on it and will do well.

"They left out a few of their players on Saturday and that just shows where their focus will be."

Stuttgart may be determined to make an impact on Europe's premier club competition but so is Smith, having himself endured a lengthy absence from the Champions League.

"It's great to be back," he said. "It's the top club tournament in the world, I don't think there is any doubt about that.

"The level of teams you're playing against is fantastic. I didn't think I'd get a shot at it again but I'm back at it and I hope we can do well."