Rangers manager Walter Smith felt a sense of relief at claiming the Scottish Cup after being pushed all the way by Queen of the South.The Ibrox side looked set for a comfortable win at Hampden thanks to first-half goals from Kris Boyd and DaMarcus Beasley.

But goals from Steve Tosh and Jim Thomson allowed the plucky First Division outfit to restore parity within eight minutes of the restart.

It was Boyd who came to the rescue of Rangers once again, having already played a major role in the capture of the CIS Insurance Cup back in March, when he claimed the decisive goal late on.

Losing this match was not an option for a team who had seen both the UEFA Cup and the SPL title slip from their grasp in the last 10 days.

Smith said: "It's a little bit of a relief I must say after the amount of football we've had over the last couple of months.

"It's obviously taken its toll a little as you could see today but I'm delighted for all the players that we managed to win.

"After the disappointments of the last 10 days or so, this match was always going to be a difficult one."

Smith praised his players for rallying after losing two goals to win the game - but feared a fightback would be beyond his exhausted players.

"I just wondered whether we would manage to do that again," he said.

"We did do it and it was a big ask of them. We contributed a little bit ourselves with the slackness at the start of the second half but it would have been a shame if we had lost out because of that.

"It has been an extremely tough spell for everyone involved and we can be a little bit happier than we were a few days ago."

As far as Smith is concerned, nothing will make up for missing out on the UEFA Cup and the SPL, but he was thrilled to end the season with a cup double all the same.

He said: "We are delighted to have the two cups this season, it's at least something tangible at the end of what has been an extremely good season for everyone.

"We are delighted we have managed to get them. It doesn't take away from the disappointment we have suffered in the last few days but at least it gives us something to be a bit happier about.

"I'm delighted for all the players. They did deserve something at the end of the season, although I suppose Gordon will think that his team deserved that as well.

"We had a situation where we had a lot to overcome and I'm glad we managed to do it."

Saturday's cup final was Rangers 68th game of the season, while Queens headed into the match four weeks after their own league season ended, and manager Gordon Chisholm believed rustiness was a factor early on.

He said: "To be honest, I thought we didn't turn up in the first half and that was disappointing. I would say that is the poorest we have played in a long time.

"In the second half we did much better and it was more like us. There are no excuses but I think four weeks is a hell of a long time to have a break and for the first 45 minutes we looked rusty and we looked as though we didn't have any belief.

"We were constantly giving the ball away to Rangers. When you come in at 2-0 down at half-time against the Old Firm, you are dreading the fact that it could be four or five and it could be embarrassing."

However, when both teams were locked on two goals apiece, the Queens boss thought his team were destined to nick the win and claim the trophy.

"The game could have gone either way," he said.

"But, because of the effort we put in to get back into the game, it was just a step too far. We were forced back and a wee bit of tiredness crept in."

However, Chisholm insists extra-time would have benefited

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