Smith suffered defeat in his first Old Firm cup final as Rangers manager

Losing the Co-operative Insurance Cup final to Celtic will make Rangers manager Walter Smith even more determined to win the league title.

"You always remember the disappointments," he told BBC Scotland after the 2-0 defeat at Hampden.

"It is what spurs you on in the majority of occasions. I'll remember.

"I thought we did very well until the last 15 minutes, when we started to give away some free-kicks. Maybe a bit of tiredness started to set in."

Celtic opened the scoring seconds into extra-time when Darren O'Dea headed in a Shunsuke Nakamura free-kick.

"I don't think there's much between the teams, this season or last season, and I thought a set-piece might settle it," said Smith, whose side sit three points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premier League.

I don't think it would have made that much of a difference had Madjid Bougherra been fit Rangers manager Walter Smith

"There were not a lot of chances created for either set of strikers."

Rangers lost Madjid Bougherra before kick-off after the influential central defender failed a fitness test.

But Smith was not blaming the loss of the former Charlton centre-half for the defeat.

"I think Kirk Broadfoot did very well," he said of the defender who himself passed a late fitness test and was sent off for the penalty that was converted by Aiden McGeady in the dying seconds.

"I don't think it would have made that much of a difference had Madjid been fit."

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