ONEDAY I’LL BE A BOSS (but not just yet...)
Veteran striker has badges of honour but there’s goals in tank
IT is a matter of when, not if. One day, Kenny Miller the player will become Kenny Miller the manager. At 37, Miller is thinking of the future. He still has goals to score and achieve before he hangs up his boots and pulls on a shirt and tie, though.
At Auchenhowie, Miller strives for improvement every day. In the rooms that overlook the pitches at Rangers’ training base, he reflects and plans.
Miller proved his worth, once again, for Mark Warburton’s side on Saturday as he scored the goals that secured victory over Motherwell and a place in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
Afterwards, captain Lee Wallace tipped his team-mate to forge a career in the dugout when the time finally comes for him to retire from playing.
His experiences and successes seemingly make Miller the ideal candidate to continue his love affair with the game. The day will come, but it won’t be anytime soon.
“That’s why I have gone through my badges so far,” Miller told SportTimes.
“Lee will tell you that we sit with the salt shakers and water bottles every morning and we move them about in formations and talk about the game, where he should have been and what he should have done.
“I love football, I always have done and for me coaching and management is the next step.
“That is hopefully well down the line, but I have played under some top managers, all with different attributes.
“Whether I had or hadn’t, I’d always have looked to stay in the game. It is in my blood.
“I want to stay in the game, I want to help, I want to stay at this club.”
It is testament to Miller’s professionalism t hat he remains an integral part of Warburton’s side. In the twilight of his career, he continues to shine at Ibrox.
His thoughts may have turned to the future but current events remain his focus and his double against Motherwell took his tally to seven goals from 27 appearances this term.
Warburton is keen to retain his services beyond the end of the season and Miller will gladly continue to pull on his boots if a new contract is put on the table.
“I am looking forward to that next step in my career,” he said.
“Davie Weir played until he was 41, but he still says play as long as you can because there is no substitute for it.
“I don’t need to be told that, but it is nice to get that wee bit of reassurance that that is the way you should have your mind set. For me, that’s never changed.
“I am 37 and that is not old. It is old in football terms and I appreciate that but I don’t feel much different from how I did five, six, seven years ago. There is no reason I can’t continue playing on for a while yet.”
Miller may have more miles on the clock than his Ibrox team-mates, but he shows no signs of being forced into the slow lane. For him, age is just a number.
HIS performances have earned Rangers points and himself plaudits. The praise is welcomed, but Miller doesn’t see himself like others too often see him.
“To be honest, it frustrates me with the age thing,” he said. “Time stops for no man and I know that.
“I said last year in many press conferences that I would rather be judged on my performances and what I bring to the team on a match day than being a 37-year-old and performing on a match day.
“It is frustrating in that respect because I want people to see the performances and not what age I am. I still feel I am contributing like I always have and as long as that doesn’t change then I will keep doing what I am doing.”
The longer that Miller can remain on his current path, the
greater the chance Rangers have of being successful this season, next season and beyond.
He is one of few figures in the Ibrox dressing room who knows what it takes to win leagues and cups and has been at the level that Rangers wish to return to.
There is no wish to wind down and coast towards retirement. Instead, the lure of success continues to motivate Miller.
“Ultimately, for me, there is a drive, there is still a desire to play and a desire to be successful, to win things and be better,” he said.
“Again, a desire to hopefully get our club back to the top of Scottish football. That is the goal.
“That was the goal when I came back two-and-a-half years ago and that is still the goal now. I am more than focused on that and I am still working hard to help us achieve that.
“That is something that can be taken out of your hands, I appreciate that. But it is still something that is really high up my priority list before I finish.”
Having saved Rangers’ Scottish Cup dreams on Saturday, Miller can now set his sights on the silverware once again. It is another Premiership title that is the ultimate ambition, though.
THE side who win Rangers’ next top-flight crown will be forever remembered by supporters and Miller is determined to play his part in what would be a famous league success sooner rather than later.
“It depends when it comes,” he said. “I am not going to finish depending on how successful a season is.
“I will finish when I feel I should, when I am ready and when I feel I can’t contribute.
“It would be great [to win the league again] and it is something that needs to happen soon.
“There are a lot of steps to go before we achieve that and that has been highlighted this year but everyone at the club is working hard to try and put it right and mount a challenge next year.”