Ibrox men must follow Miller’s example, says Celtic icon Hay
If Rodgers was Rangers boss, they still wouldn’t win the title
IT took a Celtic great to say what many at Rangers were thinking. Even if Davie Hay was making a point about widespread deficiencies in the Light Blue ranks, his words of praise for Kenny Miller were clearly sincere. And absolutely spot on.
At the age of 37, Miller has more than earned the contract extension belatedly offered by Pedro Caixinha.
Still the club’s most productive and most committed player, as evidenced by him winning their Player of the Year Award last Sunday, the striker will be front and centre when Celtic visit Ibrox on Saturday.
If Rangers are to conjure up one Old Firm victory from this season of half-a-dozen derby dates, they’ll need a good six or seven players to follow the example set by a veteran apparently destined to extend his third spell with the club.
‘Look at last Sunday and the only Rangers player who would get pass-marks is Kenny Miller,’ said former Celtic player and manager Hay.
‘He has been the most threatening player against Celtic in most of the games they’ve played this season.
‘You have to admire him for what he has achieved at the age he is and the fitness he has shown. He didn’t give in.
‘It would have been easy to throw his arms up and say: “What can I do here?” But he did his utmost. That has to spin off to the rest of the Rangers players. Why didn’t it? What happened?’
The simple answer is that Celtic didn’t allow Rangers to fight on an equal footing in last Sunday’s 2-0 Scottish Cup semi-final victory at Hampden.
Individually and collectively, the Ibrox side were barely given a chance to breathe, never mind impose themselves.
As the teams prepare to meet this weekend, you’d struggle to find many betting on a win for the home side in Govan. Whether or not the balance of power swings around within the next two or three years — never mind days — seems to be a reasonable question.
Admitting that Rangers need ‘something big’ akin to the Souness revolution in order to mount a more sustained challenge, Hay declared: ‘Whatever needs to be done, the fans will demand that their team are never again as passive as they were last Sunday.
‘The one thing you were always taught was to be competitive. In days gone by, it was more competitive for different reasons. But the only thing in their favour last Sunday was that it was only 1-0 at half-time.
‘The only slight bit of hope they may have is that they had a couple of chances at the end. But, by that time, Celtic had maybe become a bit looser and made a substitution or two.
‘Rangers will look at that and say: “We had chances, we could have scored a couple”. But the Celtic players will go into the next game highly confident.
‘Okay, they will be missing Scott Brown (if he loses his disciplinary case today). But Rangers have to improve or it will be another victory for Celtic, it’s as simple as that.
‘In the long term, I don’t have the answers. But I think everyone acknowledges that there has to be investment in new players.’
While Rangers fans wonder if their club will find the money to strengthen a squad in dire need of reinforcements, Celtic’s plans rest heavily on retaining stars like Moussa Dembele, Kieran Tierney, Stuart Armstrong et al.
Recalling that there was once a need for his old club to sell any player generating interest, Hay said: ‘They don’t need to. We all know that, in this day and age, the player dictates what happens. There is no sign of Dembele agitating. He came to Celtic at a time when he could have gone elsewhere. You would get a snippet of something if he was going by now.
‘Maybe in another year or in time, Dembele might become so wanted that he and Celtic attract an offer so big it has to happen. But I don’t see it happening in the near future.
‘Tierney? He is just loving playing for Celtic. That will not change for a few years. He can achieve anything. Anything.
‘I think he will still be here. He is young enough that he has no notions of moving yet. You get indications if that’s the case. I also think Dembele will be here for another year.
‘It’s amazing how much Brendan Rodgers has changed this Celtic team, with just the addition of a couple of players in Kolo Toure, Scott Sinclair and Dembele.
‘But, if Brendan was to go to Rangers and work with the current squad of players, he wouldn’t win the league. It’s pretty obvious.
‘If you are a Rangers fan, it’s obvious you need new players. But, right now, the players you’ve got are the players you’ve got — and they have to show a level of competitiveness they didn’t show last Sunday.’
Davie Hay is supporting this year’s Scottish Football Hall of Fame nomination process, which is open now. See www.sfmhalloffame.co.uk for more details.