WALTER SMITH is calling on his players to maintain their excellent start to the SPL season by securing three points at Easter Road on Sunday but he anticipates a tough day in the capital.

Smith is unbeaten on five visits to Hibs’ ground since returning to Rangers but three of these matches have finished in a draw, including a costly stalemate in the frantic climax to last season.

Having taken 16 out of 18 points in the first six league matches of this season, the Rangers manager wants the maintain the momentum but he knows Mixu Paatelainen’s side will pose problems.

He said: “After a traumatic start to the season we seem to be picking up momentum and we have to keep that going in the coming months.

“We will find out on Sunday whether this is a flash in the pan so we have a bit of pressure on us to keep going.

“Hibs had a bit of a shaky start to the season themselves but they have settled down now.

“For us, Easter Road always seems to be a very competitive place to go and there is a good atmosphere there.

“If you do manage to get a win there you always feel as if its a really good one and one you have had to fight hard for.”

Smith pinpointed returning hero Derek Riordan as a man to watch. He said: “He had a successful period there before and he will be hoping to do so again. He is a bit like Boyd in terms of his finishing.”

It seems certain that Neil Alexander will continue in goal having performed well against Motherwell and Partick since replacing Allan McGregor and it was against Hibs that he made his first appearance for Rangers, coming on for Brahim Hemdani after McGregor was sent off in February.

Rangers manager Walter Smith is hoping to lead Rangers to a clean sweep of domestic honours.

The Gers’ failings in Europe have ensured that they will have no distractions in their quest for dominance at home.

Defeat to FBK Kaunas in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds was seen as a major blow, but Smith is confident his side can make amends.

The Co-operative Insurance Cup proved to be a landmark competition for the club last season as it represented their first piece of silverware since Smith returned to Ibrox.

The defence of that crown gets underway against Partick Thistle on Wednesday, with Smith keen to hammer home how important knockout football will be to his side this term.

Important

“When you’re not involved in Europe, it becomes an important tournament for you,” he said.

“We wanted to do well in the domestic competitions last season and we did so and we also want to do well in them this season.

“The domestic competition is the only thing left open for us at the moment.

“We know we’ll get a difficult game tomorrow night and it’s one we will have to make sure we are well-prepared for, because Partick Thistle drew at Ibrox last season and it took a decent performance from us at Firhill to get through.”

Excuses

First Division outfit Partick claimed a 1-1 draw at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup back in March, before slipping to a 2-0 defeat in the return fixture.

Smith is expecting another tough encounter this time around and has warned his side against complacency.

“I don’t think there is any doubt about that,” he said.

“Last season, when we played Partick Thistle, we were in the midst of a lot of fixture congestion.

“We don’t have that problem now so there are no excuses from that point of view.

“We know the type of game to expect from all of the teams who compete against SPL teams in the League Cup, they are always awkward games to get over, especially away from home.”