Rangers manager Walter Smith admits he was pleasantly surprised when chairman Sir David Murray revealed how much money he would have to rebuild the team he inherited from Paul Le Guen.
Smith will complete the first year of his second spell at Ibrox on Thursday, with Rangers at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
At the time of his appointment last season, Rangers were 17 points behind Celtic and could not make up that deficit despite improving markedly after Smith made his first signings.
But now they are favourites for the SPL title, with Smith's recruitment of the likes of Carlos Cuellar, Kevin Thomson, Steven Naismith and Lee McCulloch proving money well spent.
Smith has splashed out over £10million on new players and he admitted: "We never thought we'd have that amount.
"The one thing the chairman was happy with was that the investment was mainly made on younger, Scottish players. There wasn't going to be a problem with them coming in and settling down and playing.
"They had already shown they could play in this division, and in a sense they were assets although we aren't taking them to sell them, they are to bring stability.
"We had a situation within the club where a lot of players were coming in, staying for less than a season and having to leave again. We needed a bit of stability and I'm hoping these young boys can bring us that."
At the time of his appointment last season, Rangers were 17 points behind Celtic and could not make up that deficit despite improving markedly after Smith made his first signings.
But now they are favourites for the SPL title, with Smith's recruitment of the likes of Carlos Cuellar, Kevin Thomson, Steven Naismith and Lee McCulloch proving money well spent.
Smith has splashed out over £10million on new players and he admitted: "We never thought we'd have that amount.
"The one thing the chairman was happy with was that the investment was mainly made on younger, Scottish players. There wasn't going to be a problem with them coming in and settling down and playing.
"They had already shown they could play in this division, and in a sense they were assets although we aren't taking them to sell them, they are to bring stability.
"We had a situation within the club where a lot of players were coming in, staying for less than a season and having to leave again. We needed a bit of stability and I'm hoping these young boys can bring us that."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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