Christian Dailly was the unlikely goal hero in the first half and Smith's men looked on their way to claiming the win which would keep the destination of the SPL trophy in their own hands.

But a Chris Porter equaliser shortly after the break means the advantage now lies with their rivals across the city.

Celtic boast a three-point lead at the top of the table ahead of their final game against Dundee United and, although Rangers still have two games left at St Mirren and Aberdeen, the champions are seven goals better off meaning they are now favourites to defend their crown.

But Smith believes the resilience of their opponents, rather than goal difference, will prove decisive in the end.

"I don't think we should consider it a straight-forward aspect of turning up, playing, and winning the games," he said.

"If Motherwell are an indication of the level of effort that the other teams will show then I think there is a fair bit of football to be played."

All out attack against St Mirren on Monday night in the hope of slashing Celtic's superior goal difference remains an option for Rangers.

But Smith added: "We just have to go and try to win the game. If you look at the amount of effort Motherwell put into the game today, that's what happens in Scotland.

"There was a lot of talk about Motherwell and the rest teams not having anything to play for but there was nothing wrong with Motherwell's effort today.

"I'm sure the games against St Mirren, Aberdeen and Dundee United that the Old Firm have to play in the next few days will be exactly the same.

"So there is still a bit of football to be played. If you are looking at over-turning the goal difference, that's a difficult task."

Rangers could have been celebrating at Fir Park had Daniel Cousin managed to convert after finding himself through on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat.

But the final product was poor and Graeme Smith produced a crucial save.

Gers boss Smith admitted it was a pivotal moment in the match.

"Although it was early in the second half it would have had an effect on the players and taken a lot of heat out of the match," he said.

"I felt we started the game very well, especially in the first half. In the second half we had the opportunity right away to probably kill the game and we didn't take it.

"That gave Motherwell a bit of a lift and they played better in the second half than they did in the first."

Stephen Craigan could have earned a second yellow card for a challenge on Cousin, having earlier been cautioned for a foul on the same player, but Smith refused to drawn into a row about the officials.

"No, I wasn't disappointed," he said. "The referee called it the way he saw it and that's it. In the referee's opinion it wasn't a second bookable offence. I've no complaint about that."

Rangers faced the task of lifting themselves following Wednesday's UEFA Cup final defeat and, having now played 65 games this season, Motherwell manager Mark McGhee believes fatigue told in the end against his team.

He said: "I didn't think there would by any psychological damage to Rangers given the result in midweek but I did feel maybe there would be a physical challenge if we got ahead - not if we got level because I thought before the game if they got ahead we wouldn't get anything from the game.

"To come back from that was a little bit of a surprise and possibly that was a sign of the fact that they are a little bit fatigued."

And, like Smith, McGhee believes the title race is far from done and dusted.

"I think Celtic have a job to go to Tannadice and I think the two games that Rangers have are a little bit more winnable than the Dundee United game," he said.

"I think Celtic have the hardest of the three games. At Dundee, they are a very difficult team to beat and they have a manager who will remain focused regardless of the circumstances surrounding the game.

"Craig Levein will have his team prepared properly and they will make life difficult for Celtic.

"I'm sure that's the same for St Mirren and Aberdeen but I would rate Dundee United as the best of the three."