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Rangers manager Walter Smith believes the jeers which chased his players from the pitch at half-time against Montenegrin minnows FK Zeta was welcome "aggravation".

The Ibrox side eventually scraped a 2-0 win to take into next week's second leg in Podgorica.

Smith bolstered the squad he inherited from Paul Le Guen in January with nine new players and believes those new recruits have been left in no doubt as to exactly what is expected of them at their new club.

"What happened on Tuesday will have opened their eyes," said the Rangers boss. "Not only the foreign players - the Scottish players as well.

"These boys have all been playing for other clubs and doing well. If they finish third or fourth with those clubs, that's fine.

"The realisation that they are coming in 0-0 and getting booed off, I hope, was a little bit of a surprise to them all.

"It's a good thing. There always has to be an expectation at a club, and at Rangers and Celtic it is higher, but you need that.

"Any club needs a high expectation level and a bit of aggravation from the outside if they are going to succeed.

"There is no use complaining about it. Booing at half-time is a realisation that they have come to a club where it is not really that acceptable to lose a game, regardless of who you are playing."

Smith added: "Nobody said anything in the dressing room, but you could see it.

"We didn't play well the other night but the good thing was that they came in at half-time knowing they hadn't played well.

"Already they are realising there has to be a level of performance."

Kris Boyd was singled out for most of the criticism following the match against Zeta, having hit the post in the opening seconds and then missing a sitter when the game was still tied 0-0.

He was castigated by former Gers striker Mark Hateley in a newspaper column this week but the player is more interested in what another former forward, Rangers number two Ally McCoist, has to say.

"People can write what they want," he said. "Even if I have a good game, they can still write the same stuff. I have had conversations with Coisty about it.

"I know he went through a similar thing when he played for Rangers. We both agree that the time to start worrying is when the chances dry up.

"I have had worse misses than the ones against Zeta. I thought my miss for Scotland against Georgia was worse, for example.

"Goalscorers will always come in for criticism.

People take it as read that it's the easiest job in the world to put the ball in the back of the net, but believe me, it isn't.

"You just learn to live with it and get on with it. As long as I don't let people who try to bring me down affect me, then I'll be fine."

He added: "I'm ready to go for the new season. The Scotland games took us right through to June, but I've also been working hard through the close season.

"I've come back in better shape as a result. I felt I had to sharpen up with new players coming in to the club.

"I feel really good although I haven't been scoring goals so far, but hopefully as from Saturday I can start putting the ball in the net."