Laudrup rested

Scottish football

Scottish football

The Rangers manager, Walter Smith, has told his team to forget the defeat in their opening game of the Champions' League at Steaua Bucharest on Wednesday. Instead, he stresses the importance of focusing on today's visit to Falkirk.

"Everyone was disappointed to lose the opening game of a campaign," Smith said. "But the most important thing for us is not to be distracted from our prime objective, which is to retain the championship again. We've started well with two wins and we want to keep that run going."

Brian Laudrup will be missing today after picking up a thigh injury in midweek, but the Russian striker, Oleg Salenko, is in line for a recall, and David Robertson can return after suspension. Mark Hateley will be out for around a month. Yesterday he underwent two operations for cartilage and ankle problems.

Falkirk's manager, John Lambie, who has his goalkeeper Tony Parks back, treated the news that Laudrup will be out with typical bluntness: "They have got plenty of other bullets to fire at us," he said.

n Rangers may protest to Uefa about conditions at Steaua's ground when a Scottish fan ended up in hospital after being hit on the head by a brick. Rangers' security advisor, Alistair Hood, said builders' rubble outside the ground was not cleared away before the game.