titles in succession followed under Smith's tenure, including a domestic treble in 1992–93. He also won the Scottish Cup and the League Cup three times each. Smith took Rangers to the brink of the final of the Champions League in season 1992–93, going ten games without defeat in that campaign and 44 matches unbeaten in all competitions. This success was achieved at a cost, as Smith spent over £50m on transfer fees in his six years in charge – more than any other club in Great Britain over the same period. Rangers equalled Celtic's record of nine successive championships in 1996–97. In an effort to secure a record-breaking tenth success in 1997–98, Rangers spent £13m on eight new players. In European competition, Rangers were beaten 4–1 by IFK Gothenburg in the 1997–98 UEFA Champions League preliminary round and 4–2 by Strasbourg in the first round of the 1997–98 UEFA Cup. There was growing pressure on Smith because of poor European results, and it was announced in October 1997 that he would leave Rangers at the end of the season. Rangers lost the league title to Celtic on the final day and then lost the 1998 Scottish Cup Final to Hearts. Everton After success in his native Scotland, Smith's retirement lasted a month as he took the manager's job at Premier League club Everton in June 1998. Initially Smith had been linked with the manager's job at Sheffield Wednesday, but false promises made to him by the Everton chairman of massive transfer funds and unlimited ambition lured Smith to Goodison Park. Smith spent money on players only to discover that it was money the club did not have. When Duncan Ferguson was sold behind Smith's back, he was tempted to quit. The remainder of his time at Everton revolved around selling the club's better players such as John Collins, Olivier Dacourt, Don Hutchison, Marco Materazzi, Nick Barmby, Francis Jeffers and Michael Ball to balance the books. Under Smith, Everton finished in the bottom half of the table for three consecutive seasons. The Everton board finally ran out of patience with Smith and he was sacked in March 2002 after an "abject" 3–0 FA Cup Sixth Round defeat to Middlesbrough, with Everton in some danger of relegation from the Premier League. He was replaced by David Moyes, who managed Everton to a safe finish in fifteenth place. Manchester United In March 2004,