to be Walter Smith's last season as manager, and Rangers were unable to win a record tenth-straight league championship. The early-season form of new signing Marco Negri gave the team fresh impetus. The side finished the league on 72 points, two behind champions Celtic, after taking the title race to the last day of the season. The club ended the season trophyless for the first time in twelve seasons as they lost the 1998 Scottish Cup Final to Hearts 2–1 and were knocked out League Cup in the quarter-finals by Dundee United. In Europe, the club failed to reach the Champions League group stages and they fell at the first hurdle in the UEFA Cup, losing both legs 2–1 to RC Strasbourg. Smith left Rangers and joined Premier League club Everton. Many players from the nine-in-a-row era left Rangers, including Brian Laudrup, Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant, Stuart McCall and club captain Richard Gough. The Little General (1998–2001) Dick Advocaat, nicknamed the Little General, succeeded Walter Smith on 1 June 1998. Formerly in charge of PSV Eindhoven, Advocaat became Rangers' tenth manager, and was the first non-Scot to hold the position. His appointment was viewed as reflecting a desire to begin to challenge Europe's elite clubs. David Murray had long proclaimed that Rangers ought to be judged not just in relation to success in Scotland but on their performance in European competition, and especially in the UEFA Champions League. Despite being given resources on a scale never before handed to a Rangers manager, success on a larger stage failed to materialise. The scale of these resources made available to Advocaat initially confirmed that the Rangers management was thinking in bold, European terms. Confronted with a rump of players remaining after Smith's departure, Advocaat was furnished with an unprecedented transfer budget over the coming seasons. In total, Advocaat spent over £36 million on new players in his debut season. However, while Advocaat's record in transfer dealings remained mixed throughout his time at Ibrox, at first the club appeared to be beginning to deliver in playing terms, both in Scotland and (less predictably) Europe. Advocaat's first season saw another domestic treble secured. Performance in Europe was promising, with Bayer Leverkusen defeated in a solid, if unspectacular, UEFA Cup run. The following season, Advocaat continued to spend big, bringing the likes of Michael Mols and Claudio Reyna to Ibrox. A domestic double was secured