UEFA Cup no consolation, says Rangers boss</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> GLASGOW (AFP) - Rangers manager Walter Smith says the fact his side qualified for the last 32 of the UEFA Cup is no consolation for crashing out of the Champions League on Wednesday. The Ibrox side needed only a draw against Lyon to secure the second qualifying spot behind Barcelona in Group E. However, the French champions scored three times without reply - through Sidney Govou and a double from Karim Benzema - to qualify for the last 16 of Europe's premier club competition. Although Rangers still exceeded expectations to finish above German champions Stuttgart in the section and qualify for the UEFA Cup, Smith was in no mood to look on the bright side after his side's heavy defeat. The Ibrox club's manager said: "We're disappointed to be out of the Champions League. Our ambition was to qualify for the last 16 so it doesn't feel like any consolation to be in the UEFA Cup." The fact Rangers do not have the same level of financial spending power as the other sides in Group E was also of little comfort. However, he does believe the experience gained in their Champions League campaign can stand them in good stead for the future. Smith said: "Other teams in the section might have more money to spend but that's no consolation to anyone at Rangers. "We are really disappointed that we didn't manage to get the result we needed to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League. "But it is an experience of us in the sense that when we started out we didn't know how our team would do. "We've probably played a bit better than most people expected and even against Lyon we didn't play that badly but just lacked that cutting edge when we got into the final third. "In terms of passing the ball and keeping possession we showed that we are far better than we were at the start of the group." Smith continued: "At the start of the season we had no European pedigree and there was no expectation on how we were going to do. "So we can be happy with aspects of the way we've played in the Champions League but it doesn't take away from the fact that once you get into the situation we were in on Wednesday - needing only a draw to qualify - that you are disappointed with the outcome." Rangers had fallen behind in the 16th minute. Benzema raced to the byline from the left before driving the ball low across goal and although goalkeeper Allan McGregor dived out to palm it away Govou raced in to smash into the empty net. The French side looked certain to clinch victory in the 78th minute when Benzema rounded McGregor and side-footed the ball towards the open net only for Steven Whittaker to clear off the line. Rangers captain Barry Ferguson then forced his way towards the Lyon byline and fired the ball low across goal, but substitute Jean-Claude Darcheville somehow blasted over from only a few yards out. That miss came back to haunt Rangers in the 84th minute. Rangers' Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar mis-timed a header allowing Benzema to race in on goal and poke the ball through the legs of McGregor. Benzema then scored a third goal for his side in the 88th minute with a fantastic strike into the bottom corner of the net from 25-yards. To complete a miserable night for Rangers, Darcheville was sent off in injury time for an ugly tackle on Kim Kallstrom.</div></p>
I would have fancied a Rangers qualification than Lyon, just because I feel lyon isnt going to get too far against the other bigger teams and neither was Rangers, but either way their victory will be short livedonce they facethe bigger expirienced teams.</p>
