FINAL STRAW
Rangers suspend Miller and Wallace amid concern Hampden bust-up was not a one-off
RANGERS suspended Kenny Miller and Lee Wallace yesterday after deciding an alleged dressingroom row with Graeme Murty was the final straw.
Both players have been told to stay away from Ibrox and the Auchenhowie training centre pending an investigation into a verbal confrontation which followed Sunday’s 4-0 Scottish Cup hammering by Celtic.
Sportsmail understands, however, that the club’s board had harboured concern about aspects of the pair’s behaviour ‘over a period of time’.
And one source said: ‘It’s a case of enough is enough. The directors have been disgusted by the behaviour of certain
individuals over a period of time. It is not just about the events of Sunday. ‘They are having no more of it. It is a message to all the players that nobody is bigger than this club.’ Directors, including chairman Dave King and recently-appointed deputy chairman Douglas Park, decided to act upon learning what had happened at Hampden. The players were summoned to Ibrox yesterday morning to be informed of their suspensions by managing director Stewart Robertson. Both are understood to have been shocked by the accusations and will seek to clear their names. Miller is believed to have argued he did not have a bust-up with Murty and that the Rangers boss had left the dressing room before any words were exchanged. Robertson informed both Miller and Wallace that the reasons for the decision would be sent to them in writing and they would then have a chance to offer their version of events. The pair are thought to have then met with PFA Scotland to discuss the way ahead. But Miller, whose contract expires in two months’ time, will not play for Rangers again. The 38-year-old was an unused substitute on Sunday. While Wallace, 30, has a further year on his deal, it seems likely Rangers will seek to offload their club captain at the end of this season. The suspensions add to the turmoil at Rangers following a tenth successive Old Firm match without success. Andy Halliday and Daniel Candeias both reacted angrily to being substituted, while Alfredo Morelos and Greg Docherty exchanged words before leaving the pitch at full-time. Miller and Wallace are then thought to have rounded on Murty when the players gathered in the dressing room. It is understood they reacted angrily when he suggested delaying the post-mortem on the 4-0 defeat for 24 hours. Miller was told to train with the Under-20s squad during Pedro Caixinha’s time in charge but was recalled by Murty for the 3-1 win over Hearts on October 28. He went on to make eight further starts under Murty but only one of those — the 4-0 win over Dundee earlier this month — came after the winter break. ‘Rangers can confirm two players, Lee Wallace and Kenny Miller, have this morning been suspended pending investigation into a team related incident,’ said a statement issued yesterday. ‘The club will make no further comment until this investigation has been completed.’ Neither player was available for comment yesterday but ex-team-mate Lee McCulloch insisted they were ‘not disruptive players’. ‘I know Lee and Kenny very well; they are two passionate professionals,’ he told the BBC. ‘They are not disruptive players. I can’t get my head round the whole situation. Getting beaten 4-0 by your biggest rivals, I’d hope there would be a lot more than two people with something to say. We don’t know what’s happened, all the ins and outs, but if they got up and expressed an opinion about what’s happened, (saying) “That wasn’t good enough today”, I don’t see a problem with that. ‘It doesn’t look too good on the club or the players. For me, an awful lot would need to happen in that dressing room. ‘People will say it’s not the best time to speak out, when the adrenaline is still going, but you can look at it both ways. You might get what people really feel instead of leaving it a day or two when people go back into their shells.’