Man Utd vs Rangers 2010 flashback: When Walter Smith frustrated Sir Alex Ferguson with a defensive masterclass

Philippe Clement has warned his Rangers players not to “park the bus” when they face Manchester United this evening as his side attempt to “write history” at Old Trafford.

But it’s a tactic that legendary former Ibrox boss Walter Smith certainly deployed to great effect when he took the Light Blues south of the border for a Champions League group stage encounter in September 2010.

A frustrating 0-0 draw was played out on that occasion with Smith’s men producing a masterclass in defensive football to keep out Sir Alex Ferguson’s star-studded side.

The game marked the return of Wayne Rooney after the striker was left out of the matchday squad in the aftermath of allegation about his private life. Ferguson made wholesale changes - 10 in total - from the line-up that had faced Everton just a few days prior.

But the former England international cut a subdued figure for most of the 90 minutes at the Red Devils ran into the massed ranks of a Rangers rearguard action, with the then Scottish champions sticking doggedly to the gameplan that boss Smith had devised.

Very rarely did United look like piercing the back five of Rangers open in a formation that limited United to only a couple of half chances from long-range. They simply ran out of ideas long before the final whistle sounded. It was a ploy met with total satisfaction by the large travelling support as they celebrated the stalemate.

Smith - in his final year of management at the time before retiring - defended his tactics a post-match interview, believing it had almost became impossible for teams from smaller nations to compete in Europe’s premier competition.

He stated: “Rangers and Celtic have handled the situation in the Uefa Cup, but it’s very difficult for us to compete in the Champions League with the financial disparity. Scottish teams are not in the position we were once in, where we could compete to sign the best players in the British Isles, so we have to find a way to nullify the opposition as best as we can.

“It’s down to a manager to try and find a way. Unfortunately, in any walk of life it is easier to stop someone doing something than it is to actually create it. We don’t feel proud of the fact that we are doing it but there is nothing else left for us.

“We were always going to have to work very hard for it and I thought we did that. I’m pleased with the way my boys handled it. They showed determination and concentration throughout the game. We restricted Manchester United to very few clear-cut opportunities, which was pleasing.”

Line-ups:

MANCHESTER UNITED XI: Tomasz Kuszczak, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Chris Smalling, Fabio Da Silva (Jonny Evans), Park Ji-Sung (Michael Owen), Darren Fletcher, Antonio Valencia (Ryan Giggs), Darron Gibson, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez.

RANGERS XI: Allan McGregor, David Weir, Kirk Broadfoot, Sasa Papac, Steven Whittaker, Majid Bougherra, Lee McCulloch, Maurice Edu, Steven Davis, Kenny Miller (Kyle Lafferty), Steven Naismith.