The Light Blues were drawn in Group C along with Manchester United, Spanish side Valencia and Turkish Champions Bursapor and they begin what is sure to be a difficult task of qualifying to the knockout stages with an away game to Sir Alex Ferguson's side on September 14.

Rangers, under Alex McLeish, faced United at the same stage of the competition in 2003/04, losing 1-0 at Ibrox and 3-0 at Old Trafford, and the forthcoming meeting is unlikely to be any easier.

However, the Rangers boss, former assistant to United manager Ferguson, insists that is exactly the kind of test that players and coaches want from the continent's top competition.

"It's a great game to kick off the campaign with, and there's no question we couldn't have had a tougher one," he told www.rangersfc.co.uk.

"Any footballer worth his salt would want to go and play at Old Trafford so it is a game that we will look forward to."

United are three-time winners of European club football's premier competition and Smith claims they have their own special appeal.

He said: "They have a supreme pedigree when it comes to the Champions League and it is not often that they don't make it to the late stages.

"They have a glamorous side because of that, and over the last ten years or so they have been one of the most successful clubs in this tournament.

"In recent times they have become so adept at picking up the points they need to make it through the group stages and that is what we have to look at.

"They achieve a great level of consistency in European competition, but we know all about them and it will be a challenge we look forward to."

After the trip to Old Trafford, Rangers host Bursaspor on September 29.

A home game against Valencia follows on October 20 before the return game in Spain on November 2.

United visit Ibrox on November 24 before Rangers conclude with an away game to Bursaspor on December 7.

Smith highlighted the quality of all three Group C opponents, saying: "They are all tough games, as you would expect from the Champions League draw at this stage.

"Man Utd have an obvious pedigree and Valencia are a side that are unfortunate to be playing in a league with two of the biggest clubs in the world.

"They have been consistently the third best team in La Liga and would have had more success without Barcelona and Real Madrid to compete with.

"We know how strong the Spanish league is and we saw that from facing Sevilla last season, so we know what to expect from our trip to Spain."

As for Bursaspor, who won the Turkish league for the first time last season, Smith said: "For them to win the league for the first time last season was a great achievement and it tells us that they must be a more than decent side.

"If we had drawn one of the more well known names from that division like Fenerbahce or Galatasaray people would expect a really difficult match.

"So the fact that they have topped those teams means they must be a very strong side and one that people shouldn't underestimate."

However, having paid tribute to Rangers' European opponents, Smith is keen to improve on the nightmare Champions League campaign the Ibrox side endured last season, when they finished bottom of their group with two points.

"Last year we had a strange situation where we performed far better away from home than we did at Ibrox," he said.

"This year we know we need to improve on our home results and that is the challenge for us this year, to do better than we did 12 months ago.

"Our home games are an important part of that and with two in a row early on it will be important to start well at Ibrox."