MILLER THE BIG INTERVIEW
“If you want to take my jersey, you’ll have to be good enough.”
TO pinch a phrase from that old sitcom favourite, The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin, Kenny Miller didn’t get where he is today by shirking a challenge.
Three spells with Rangers, one with Old Firm rivals Celtic plus stints in England, Wales, Turkey and Canada, have proved the 37-year-old Scot to be a player for the ages.
And as he eyes another European campaign with the Light Blues that many thought would never come to pass, he has a blunt message for both the cluster of exotic new signings who would seek to take his jersey and his team-mates fearing the worst about their own positions.
“Prove you’re better – simple as that,” he said.
“If somebody wants to come in and take my place, then they’re going to have to be better than me and I’m not going to allow that to happen easily.
“So if you come in and prove you’re better, then you’ve got the jersey. If you don’t, you won’t.
“For the people who say, ‘We are bringing this guy in who is in my position’, just be better.
“You’re at a big club – every season there’s going to be new players brought in.
“If it’s in your position, then you’re just going to have to be better.
“You just have to show you’re better-equipped to do the role.
“You can’t mump and moan because we’re signing players. Clearly we need to sign players.
“With how far back we were last year, we need better players and we need better competition within the team.
“Is it ideal bringing 10 in when you have a language barrier to overcome as well as having to get used to the way the new boys play? No, it’s not.
“But if that’s what the manager feels is right at this time, then we’ve got to roll with it and make sure it works.
“Because there’s no doubt we need to improve the quality of the squad if we want to – and I hate the phrase – close the gap on Celtic.
“There was a huge points difference last season, even to Aberdeen. So for us to be far more competitive, we need better players.
“Thankfully it’s not my job. The manager has to assemble a squad which he thinks has the right balance and quality within it. We need the right characters to sustain a challenge.
“But I think the level of player we are after shows an awareness of what we need to take us back to a higher position.”
Rangers have been nothing if not busy in the transfer market with Bruno Alves, Ryan Jack, Dalcio, Fabio Cardoso and Daniel Candeias all signed up.
Strike pair Carlos Pena and Edurado Herrera will join them after work-permit details have been finalised and Graham Dorrans will do likewise, provided a transfer fee can be thrashed out with Norwich City.
“It’s been very positive,” said Miller.
“Bruno is away playing at the Confederations Cup and I don’t think many people will have doubts about him.
“He’s a well- known figure in football and should be a big signing for us.
“Fabio has come in and had a great 10 days. He speaks well, he leads, he demands and for a young lad he’s very vocal.
“Dalcio’s English isn’t as good as Fabio’s, so he’s finding it a wee bit harder to communicate with the lads.
“But as long as the manager gets the message across to him of what he expects, we should be OK.
“You can see his threat and the quality he’ll bring to the group.
“Graham Dorrans, meanwhile, would be a huge signing for us. We’d definitely be heading in the right direction if we can get a player of that quality.
“He’s an outstanding footballer, a guy who has played 10 years in England, all at Championship level or higher. In fact, probably more at Premier League standard.
“When I saw his name linked with us at the end of last season, I watched him for Norwich to see if he was still the player I knew.
“They played Brighton and he ran the game. I also met Russell Martin on holiday, who was very complimentary.
“Stevie Naismith reckons he’s maybe their best player. If we can get a player out of Norwich with his quality to this club, it would only be a positive thing for us.”
Pedro Caixinha will need as many options as he can, with the club’s involvement in the Europa League qualifiers giving them ties on June 29 and July 6.
“It is early, but in a couple of weeks we will be good to go,” said Miller.
“My last European game was against Bursaspor, where I scored. I had been there before and the fact that I played pretty well against them maybe helped me get the move to them.
“After that game, when I left for the second time, I didn’t think I would have a chance to come back to Rangers again.
“But, when I knew there was a possibility to return to the club again, then Europe becomes part of the thought process again, along with more Old Firm games.
“When you leave you think you will never experience a game of that
You can’t mump and moan because we’re signing players. We need to sign players.
size again. But I managed to do that.
“The next stage is European, win the league and Champions League games are back on again – that’s where we want to be playing.
“Europa League qualifiers are a bit away from that. But after everything we have been through, these first ties are going to be great moments for everyone associated with the club.
“At the same time, though, it’s important we are right on the ball to go. Because you don’t get a second chance if you underperform or get a poor result.
“If we lose a pre-season friendly, let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter. The purpose of them is to get fit, our match sharpness up and to get everyone in the squad game time.
“But these games, you need to win.
“It’s all part of the process, all small steps in getting us back to where we want to be. We’d love to do it in one huge step, but it’s going to take a bit of time.
“We are going to have to keep getting better.”
A major challenge, in other words, lies ahead.
Fortunately for Miller, and Rangers themselves, that’s just what the doctor ordered.