THIS could be viewed as the biggest night of his managerial career, when the last words he utters to his Rangers players as they head out onto the Artemio Franchi pitch here tonight may be the most important team talk he'll ever deliver.

Walter Smith may be standing on the brink of an achievement no Rangers manager has emulated in 36 years, but he remains calm and focused.

In terms of what he'll deliver to his men, he says it will be no Gettysburg Address. Having looked each of them in the eye this season, he says every one of the 11 who pulls on a jersey against Fiorentina for a place in the Uefa Cup Final knows exactly what is on the line.

Big Cousin could win Walt's OK DANIEL COUSIN could get the nod to play the lone striker role for Rangers tonight. The Gabonese hitman impressed boss Walter Smith with his attitude and performance in the 3-2 Old Firm defeat last weekend. Cousin has produced some memorable Euro displays this season, none more so than in Lyon last October when Rangers won 3-2 in the Champions League, and he may start ahead of Jean-Claude Darcheville with Smith keeping the Frenchman's pace and power for the latter stages. The Gers boss admitted: "In the second half of the season he's had the on-off transfer to Fulham and was then out for five weeks with a broken jaw. "So I think Daniel is now at the level of fitness he should be at and it's up to us to decide on the positions. We do have options, and we also have the factor that Jean-Claude can play in wider areas on both sides as well." Keeper Neil Alexander has admitted he's preparing for the prospect of penalties to determine who goes through to the Final in Manchester on May 14. Smith said: "If that's the situation, we'll go into that quite happily. Fiorentina faced that in one of their previous rounds against Everton, so they have experience of it, too." The manager also said there would be no hangover from the Celtic defeat, despite the fact his players were left harbouring feelings of injustice over some of the decisions that went against them at Parkhead. "They've had to get over disappointments and it hasn't affected them greatly," said Smith."There's a great determination within the group to try and win. "We know the circumstances are difficult because of the short space of time between games. But when we get to this stage we want to turn a good position into a winning one."

"I don't think I have to remind them in any way of the rarity of getting to a European final," said Smith.

By way of reference, he points to a call he's had from his old friend, Sir Alex Ferguson, who has just ended a nine-year wait to return to such a stage, even with the plethora of stars he's had at his disposal over the period at Manchester United.

"Even the younger ones are aware of what is on the line tonight, what can be there for them if they get through this game, Smith continued.

"It's a massive opportunity, but I feel that I know the players here, even though they are a first year team if you like. They want to get there, and there is great determination."

And what of Smith, now 60 and a changed man from the Rangers manager who left the club in 1998 after a bid to create history and win 10-in-a-row ultimately failed.

He is more pragmatic about the game now, or the business' as it's often referred to. He finds himself at the business end tonight, contemplating something that would have been absolutely unthinkable when he answered Sir David Murray's SOS some 15 months ago to clean up the mess left behind by Paul Le Guen.

As Smith insisted after the weekend defeat at Celtic Park, bridging the gap and mounting a challenge were his priorities for this season.

But as each round passed, as expectation rose, the dream started to build in his head. So would this be the finest hour in Smith's managerial career?

Pausing for some time, he answered: "To get to a European final is not just big, it's huge, especially for a team from one of the smaller countries.

"When you've been lucky enough to have won a few things it's hard to choose. But for any manager to get to a European final, it's an achievement.

"But I don't look at it as though it's any kind of personal thing, because I never expected to get there, to be quite honest with you.

"If we get there it will be fantastic. I just hope we can do it, because there's been a great deal of effort to reach this stage. If we can get a result here in Florence, then we would deserve to get to the final, as I believe that would be a big enough achievement in its own right."

Smith believes Rangers will need to hit the heights of Lyon and Lisbon - where they won 3-0 and 2-0 respectively in the Champions League - and then the Uefa Cup quarter-final stage.

The Italians, for all they didn't look exactly top drawer at Ibrox, are extremely confident of taking care of business, but then so has just about every team Rangers have faced in Europe this season.

The underdog tag sits comfortably with Smith. And he makes no qualms about the 4-5-1 formation that has worked so well this season, and will be deployed once more again tonight in Tuscany.

"I told our boys we'd set out to be difficult to beat," Smith explained. "To add the little bit of flair that's necessary is one of the things we'll set about in the close season.

"When you look at the way our lads have performed, they have proved difficult to beat and have achieved a level of success that I don't think we could have envisaged in our first season.

"Every manager, when you come in, has to make an assessment of his squad, where you are, and how best to go forward.

Some other managers may have looked upon it in a different way, but I think we've been a lot better than a lot of people have imagined.

"There have been periods of time when we haven't performed too well and we haven't been consistent in terms of our overall possession of the ball throughout the season. Sometimes it's been really good, as in Lisbon. At other times it hasn't been so good, so we must accept that.

"We'll approach this game in the manner like the majority of other European matches and hope for a similar result.

"I think that, like the rest of the matches, it will be very difficult. Fiorentina have been well set over the last couple of seasons and are now in the top four of Serie A. They are at home, so you imagine they'd be favourites.

"But we've had good results away from home and have managed to get goals in both the European tournaments we've played. We would hope that can continue and we can get the result that can carry us through."