It looks like Rangers are wanting to pour oil over troubled waters over spats between team-mates Kenny Miller and Madjid Bougherra. Players like Steven Smith are being lined up to calm the media frenzy over suggested  unrest at Murray Park. Smith has come out and to say that the training ground bust-up was blown out of all proportion. The Ibrox full-back wants a veil to be drawn over Bougherra's indiscretions of the past and is grateful he is available to play for the team again. The heated exchange at Murray Park happened last week after Miller had accused Bougherra of showing a lack of respect for his team and team mates following the defender's late return from international duty with Algeria for the third time this season.

Smith said: "I've been here for years and I've seen a lot of things like that happening. This is the only one that I've seen really being blown out of proportion. The Madjid situation was also blown out of proportion. We just want our best players playing and to be fit and available for selection and Madjid is one of our best players, if not the best player. We are all just glad he's back now and available for selection for us. I don't think it's a major problem. Madjid is a good pro. He has turned up late a few times but he apologised for that and we accept it and move on. We want him back playing and playing the way he was before he went away with his national team."

Former Rangers skipper Richard Gough was also rolled out to speak to the media to send a message to the current squad of players that they should focus their fighting spirit for the pitch, rather than scrapping among themselves off it. Smith said: "If anybody watched the game on Saturday, they would say that was fair comment. When you go to places like Aberdeen, you know what you're getting, you are getting a really tough game. When you turn up, you need to win the battle first and we didn't do that. On that game, I would say he was being honest. But, over the piece, it's harsh criticism of the team we've got just now. Last season we had question marks against us when we went seven points behind Celtic but we came back and won the title. We are getting question marks against us again this year and we need to answer them in the same way."

The loss to Aberdeen and Celtic's win over St Mirren at the weekend saw Rangers drop down from the top of the league, and Smith believes hard graft more than anything else is needed to rediscover top form. He said: "We just need to get back to working hard. We are not blessed with individually great players. I think all the success we've had has been based on working hard and having a good work ethic but we've not been doing that. When you don't do that - and you haven't got the individual players - then you are going to struggle."