Hateley believes Rangers can seize the opportunity in Manchester

Rangers legend Mark Hateley claims Walter Smith's controversial tactics have been vindicated by reaching Wednesday's Uefa Cup final.

Rangers have been accused of playing "anti-football" in Europe this season, but Hateley defended Smith's approach.

"We've had unfair criticism for long periods of this season of the way Rangers play football," he said. "But you play to your strengths."

Rangers play Russia's Zenit St Petersburg in the Manchester final.

Smith is expected to remain with the lone striker formation which has served his side so well throughout their Uefa Cup campaign, frustrating each opponent en route to the final.

"We have a really strong back four. Two good goalkeepers. Defensively in midfield, we're very strong," said former England striker Hateley, who played under Smith during a successful spell at the Ibrox club in the nineties.

"I think he'll go with the tried and trusted 4-5-1 situation. Who will fill the midfield role? You have Lee McCulloch who's back now. You have DeMarcus Beasley, who is hovering around the squad. You have Charlie Adam.

"All of them were part of the initial team who started off this run and they'll come back into contention. And that's a great thing for Walter to have.

"But it's not just about the eleven that start. It's going to be about the whole bench, the whole group of players, the atmosphere, the spirit that's been built over this period."

The current crop at Ibrox compares more than favourably, Hateley affirms, with the squad which he joined from Monaco in 1990.

That group would go on to complete a run of nine successive Scottish titles while coming so close to reaching the European Cup final, three years after his arrival.

Winning a continental trophy, however, might elevate Smith's present line-up above their storied predecessors.

"They are two different teams." Hateley observes. "Individually, you had your Brian Laudrups, your Paul Gascoignes. They were unique players and there are very few players like that in world football.

"But this team has got further than that team so you would say this team on paper, stat- wise, is a better team."

Serving now as Rangers' Fan Ambassador, the 32-times capped Englishman admits he is looking forward to the contest itself, albeit with a few butterflies arising.

Having so many games in such a short period of late, he believes, will have served as a welcome distraction to the Scottish challengers and helped to calm the nerves of those involved.

But come Wednesday night, it will all be about making the most of the opportunity and relishing the occasion.

"I think they'll be excited," Hateley predicts. "I wouldn't say nervous. If you're going to get nervous, it'll probably come two, three hours before the game.

"Anxious, excited, all the right things which should be associated with a Cup final. I remember finals, obviously not at European level. But the anticipation of getting to the ground, the supporters, having your family there, that's what it's all about.

"Cup finals are things to be cherished and not to be missed. Walter will be telling the players that.

"All the hard work of getting to this stage, now it's all about enjoying the atmosphere. And it's the same for the supporters."