Walter Smith

Who is Walter Smith?

Walter Ferguson Smith, OBE is a Scottish football player, manager and director. He is primarily associated with his two spells in charge of Scottish club Rangers.

Smith had an unremarkable playing career, consisting of two spells with Dundee United which was split by a short time at Dumbarton. A pelvic injury meant he moved into coaching at Dundee United, working for manager Jim McLean, while he also took charge of the Scotland under-18 and under-21 teams. Smith was assistant to Alex Ferguson at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico after it had been announced that he would be moving to Rangers as assistant to Graeme Souness.

Smith became the manager of Rangers in 1991, succeeding Souness. He won 13 major trophies in seven years, including seven league titles in succession. After leaving Rangers at the end of the 1997–98 season, he was appointed manager of Premier League club Everton. He was in charge at Goodison Park for four seasons before he was sacked in 2002.

Smith was appointed Scotland manager in December 2004, after a brief stint as assistant manager to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.