Rangers wrap up title triumph

Rangers FC secured their 53rd Scottish championship with a nervy 1-0 victory against Hibernian FC at Easter Road on Sunday. With nearest rivals Celtic FC winning 2-0 at Dundee United FC and ensuring second spot earlier in the day, Rangers required three points to confirm a second consecutive Scottish Premier League title.

Kyle Lafferty's 17th-minute strike proved the difference as the visitors went on to lift back-to-back championships for the first time in a decade and give Walter Smith his ninth title in two spells in charge at Ibrox. "The players have thoroughly deserved it," said the manager. "You can see today getting towards the end of the season that it's been a big push for them.

"We've asked an awful lot of them over the season, but they've been fantastic and thoroughly deserved it. We weren't at our best today but we got there in the end. The players' determination to win has been fantastic. It seems to have been one of the hardest [campaigns] but then again maybe I've felt like that after every one of them. I'm just delighted we've managed to get two in a row."