GRAEME SMITH knew he would have a choice to make one day. When that moment arrived sooner than expected, the decision was easy in the end.

Off the back of a season that saw him come agonisingly close to the League One title with Raith Rovers and then miss out on promotion to the Championship, the 35-year-old went on holiday hoping to pull on his boots again this term. Instead, he has hung up his gloves in a playing capacity.

As he considered the offers on the table, one stood out. A chapter in his career has closed but now he is writing another with Rangers.

Having also turned out for Kilmarnock, St Johnstone, St Mirren and Peterhead, Smith had a wealth of experience upon which to call between the sticks for any potential employer.

But he will now use that nous and know-how to help the next generation of Ibrox shot-stoppers at the Hummel Training Centre after returning to Rangers on a full-time basis.

“I have been doing my coaching badges over the last four or five years and I have completed them all now,” Smith told SportTimes.

“I had been in at the Academy on a part-time basis for a couple of years while I was still playing and I had been looking to the next stage. I didn’t think it would come as soon.

“I still had a couple of offers to keep playing and when I was abroad on my holidays I had a couple of offers to go into full-time coaching. One of them was at Rangers and as soon as that was put towards me it was a case of dotting the Is and crossing the Ts and getting things done.

“I like to think I still would have had another three or four years left in me but it is a small sacrifice to make because I am back at the club on a full-time basis and I have the opportunity to do full-time coaching. It is a sacrifice I was more than willing to make.”

Smith made 28 appearances for Raith during what proved to be his final campaign last time out before he left the Kirkcaldy club at the end of a so near, yet so far season.

The arrival of Steven Gerrard as Rangers boss has prompted changes across the Light Blues’ coaching structure and Smith is now back at the club where he spent two years under Walter Smith.

He said: “It was always my intention when I started my coaching badges that I would play until the phone stopped ringing or my body was telling me I couldn’t do it anymore and neither of those were the case.

“We came within a fraction of winning the league last year at Raith Rovers. Colin Stewart had been in my role previously and I had worked under him on a regular basis and then the opportunity came for me to come in full-time.

“I had to mull it over, but not for too long. I did want to keep playing but the chance was too good to turn down.

“I have made my peace with not playing anymore and now it is an opportunity I am looking forward to.”

The chance to return to Rangers on a permanent basis was too enticing to spurn for Smith and now he must ensure those under his guidance make the most of their own openings.

Allan McGregor is the ideal role model for the next generation of Gers goalies to follow and his former Ibrox team-mate is confident the investments in time and money in the Academy structure will pay off for Rangers in the future.

Smith said: “When I was a player, Jim Stewart was here and then when I came in to the Academy, Jim and Colin were here so there has always been that pathway in place for goalkeepers.

“The club have had a lot of success with that over the last couple of years with the likes of Liam Kelly and Robby McCrorie coming through and we have a number of keepers doing really well right now.

“We need that pathway there and we are all working hard to make sure we have players coming through and challenging for the first team and hopefully that can continue.

“Our job is to provide players for that level and we have a good structure in place here to help the players improve all the time.”

Boss Gerrard will keep an eye on the talent that is coming through the Rangers ranks but it is on first team matters where the 38-year-old’s focus is fixed.

A Europa League group stage berth is the first reward for Rangers’ efforts this term and now further improvement must be found as the Premiership campaign unfolds.

Smith said: “There is a bit more security and foundation to the first team side of things with the manager and his staff in place and they are looking to build on a good start.

“There is obviously a long way to go but it has been positive and you can see the difference that the manager has made himself and with the players that he has brought into the club.

“With the success in Europe, you will need to utilise the bigger squad and it has been a clean slate for the guys that were here.

“The new guys have a chance to show what they can do at a club the size of Rangers and everyone has to prove that they are good enough.

“From our point of view at the Academy, they will get their chance if they earn it and that is a real incentive for them.

“They have had a taste of it and hopefully more can go and join them if they go about their business in the right way. There is a feelgood factor about the place and hopefully that will continue to grow as the season goes on.”

*Rangers Academy coach Graeme Smith is pictured promoting the re-launched Rangers Pools for the Rangers Youth Development Company and fans can sign up now at www.rangerspools.com.

Profits from this latest RYDC venture - in partnership with the Football Pools –will be donated back to Rangers Football Club exclusively for the maintenance and upkeep of Ibrox Stadium. For full details on all RYDC products visit www.rydc.co.uk or call 0141 427 4919.