Walter Smith insists he will not walk away from Rangers at the end of the season even if he leads the club to an historic quadruple.The quest for four trophies remains on track after Thursday night's dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Fiorentina saw Rangers book a place in the UEFA Cup final.
The CIS Insurance Cup is already residing in the Ibrox trophy room, while the Scottish Cup and the SPL are also still very much up for grabs.
A clean-sweep would see Smith, 60, confirm his status as a club legend, having already played a major role in delivering nine consecutive titles during his first spell in the 1990s.
But the veteran boss, who returned to the Glasgow giants in January 2007, has no plans to retire on the back of such success if Rangers do triumph on all fronts.
"I keep reading that that will happen," he said. "But when I came back to Rangers from the national team job I signed a contract for three-and-a-half years and my intention is to see that out. That's just the way it is."
An enduring European run looked set to come to a heartbreaking end when skipper Barry Ferguson saw the first of Rangers' penalties saved by Fiorentina goalkeeper Sebastien Frey, before Neil Alexander blocked from Fabio Liverani and Christian Vieri blasted over.
Nacho Novo then kept his cool to convert from the spot to set up a showdown with former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat's Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester.
Smith added: "For any manager it's always good when your team has a level of success.
"We have had that this season and we are now at a stage where we can turn that into something a little more tangible. We are obviously delighted.
"I saw how much it meant to Sir Alex Ferguson when his team got to the final of the Champions League and I felt the same last night.
"When Nacho Novo scored that penalty it was fantastic. It's very difficult to put my feelings into words. There is pride in how it has been achieved.
"A lot of people were critical of the way Rangers played but they must give us a bit of credit for getting there.
"Whatever faults we have, no-one can say that we don't have a commitment and an attitude that has seen them through some very difficult games."
Progress to the final means the SPL season will be extended by four days but Rangers still face a gruelling fixture schedule and club chiefs have already expressed unhappiness that the extension is not longer.
Asked whether Rangers would consider appealing to the Scottish Premier League for more time to play their remaining games, Smith replied: "You would think it would be nice if they came to us.
"They have made it perfectly clear they are not prepared to extend the league further.
"Everybody has made it perfectly clear that they don't want an extension to the season and I made it perfectly clear last week that the only reason they did extend the season was because it's physically impossible for us to play the games that we have.
"I don't see that we will get any other leeway. The fixture list is there and we have been told that's what we have to do. It's not ideal.
"You would obviously like a situation where you could have a free weekend beforehand but we have no chance of that."
Advocaat was the man who replaced Smith at the Ibrox helm back in 1998 but Smith insists the UEFA Cup final will not be about the two managers.
"It's not about the managerial aspect of playing against another coach," he said.
"It's just a matter of trying to win, as I'm sure Dick will be trying to do. I think he enjoyed his time at Rangers and he is still friendly with the chairman.
"He will enjoy coming back but I
More Football News from TEAMtalk
