The group of French players muttering nervously in the reception area at Murray Park sensed the end was nigh. Paul Le Guen and his entourage had been sent homewards to think again after an ignominious six months and a revolution was imminent. At its helm was Walter Smith.

If Smith's appointment was a surprise to many observers of Scottish football, then it has been largely vindicated so far. Improving the morale of a squad beset by conflict and ailing confidence has been his greatest achievement, although whether this renewed sense of togetherness manifests itself in silverware remains to be seen.

By the time Smith took the reins last January, Rangers were already out of both domestic cup competitions and so far behind Celtic in the league that they would have required a telescope to monitor their great rivals' canter to the title.

If Le Guen had been the gamble that failed to pay off then there was little chance that Sir David Murray, the Rangers chairman, would make the same mistake again.

Mutterings that Smith could be enticed away from his post as manager of the Scotland national team first surfaced in the final week of 2006.

Le Guen had met Murray, seemingly unable or unwilling to continue in the post, but had been persuaded to see in the New Year.

Smith, meanwhile, had been placed on standby. One week and the removal of the captain's armband from Barry Ferguson later, and Le Guen's position looked no healthier.

Kris Boyd's celebratory raising of six fingers as a tribute to the deposed No.6 in the victory over Motherwell on January 2 was the final sign that Le Guen's tenure had run its course.

Smith, greyer but wiser after further coaching experience at Everton, Manchester United and Scotland, was soon back as Rangers manager for the first time since the summer of 1998.

There were surprises in the make-up of his backroom team. Ally McCoist followed him from Hampden as assistant manager, but the old boys' network did not stretch to a recall for Archie Knox, Smith's loyal deputy during his first spell at Ibrox.

Instead, Smith reached into the unknown to pluck Kenny McDowall from Celtic's youth department. McDowall, a Rangers fan but not someone known personally to Smith or McCoist, proved a shrewd acquisition, his interest in sports science adding an extra element to Rangers' training and preparation methods.

Andy Webster had arrived and got himself injured before Smith had even begun in the job, but it would set the tone for a period of buying big and buying British. A brittle defence was reinforced with the capture of David Weir from Everton and Ugo Ehiogu from Middlesbrough, freeing Brahim Hemdani to return to his preferred defensive midfield berth and spelling the beginning of the end of Karl Svensson's brief stay in Scotland.

Smith understood the logic in building from the back. Weir and Ehiogu, while not the most mobile, brought experience, robustness and a much-needed aerial presence, as well as moral support to the bashed egos of Alan Hutton and Allan McGregor, seemingly unloved and under-appreciated by the previous regime.

Sasa Papac was slotted in at left-back and Rangers proceeded to concede just three goals from their next 10 league matches. That run included a victory at Celtic Park - Ehiogu doing his best impersonation of Mr Tickle on a trampoline to net a spectacular overhead kick - which Smith, deadpan as always, later played down as insignificant. The true worth of the victory would not be felt until the following season.

Only in Europe, supposedly Smith's weak spot during his first stint in charge, did Rangers initially fail to improve. Hapoel Tel-Aviv were swept aside in the UEFA Cup before Rangers failed to progress beyond Osasuna in the following round.

The summer recess brought sweeping changes to the playing personnel with Papac the only Le Guen signing to survive the cull.

Le Guen had just one shot at the transfer market and chose to ignore local talent. Smith took the opposite approach, recruiting, among others, Lee McCulloch, Steven Naismith, Kirk Broadfoot, Alan Gow and Roy Carroll - mostly Scots and all Rangers supporters - in the way that old grannies stockpile tins of soup ahead of the winter freeze.

Smith, noting the lack of experienced bodies available to Le Guen during times of crisis, clearly did not want to find himself in the same situation, although his consistency of selection this season has left a swathe of players, including many of the aforementioned, disgruntled at their lack of opportunity.

They can have little complaint. Rangers look set to provide Celtic with a title race for the first time in three seasons and performed better than expected in a Champions League group that included Barcelona and the champions of Germany and France, despite the late capitulation when a place in the last 16 looked distinctly attainable.

Smith has not been without his critics. His preference for a solid 4-5-1 formation, both home and away, has not always been well-received and his on/off inclusion of Kris Boyd in his line-up continues to divide the support.

That those are the key grumbles shows progress has been made. Just how far Smith and Rangers have come will be determined in the next five months.